From Lef

Link Group (ASX: LNK), a leading global administrator of financial ownership data, has unveiled new mobile apps and voice-recognition capability, expanding the ways investors and shareholders engage with Link Group and its clients through digital channels.

Reflecting Link Group’s ongoing investment in technology, Link Group has announced the launch of a new mobile app for the Link Investor Centre platform and a new voice-activated assistant on Google Home, both of which will make it easier for investors to manage their share portfolios.

Link Investor Centre mobile app

The new Link Investor Centre mobile app offers a secure mobile platform for retail investors to access and manage their investments.

The app allows investors to quickly access information about their shareholdings and make updates to their account such as confirming payment instructions and advising communication preferences, via their mobile phone. Users can view payment history, access details of upcoming annual general meetings and submit votes online, all with the convenience and peace of mind of fingerprint authentication and PIN security options.

The app, available in both the App Store and Google Play Store, will be rolled out in Australia and New Zealand with other markets to follow shortly.

Voice-recognition technology

Link Group has also tapped into the increasing popularity of voice-activated tools, launching natural language assistants on both Google Home and through the Link Investor Centre to enable users to verbally ask for detail and information on how to manage their shareholdings.

Investors with Link-administered shares will now be able to use Google Home or the associated Google Assistant mobile app to ask real-time questions to the Link Market Services Assistant and receive helpful information on a range of topics, such as dividend payments, selling shares and updating personal details.

“By talking to the Assistant, investors can easily and quickly obtain information, without the hassle of sifting through web pages for the answer. Our new voice-recognition technology allows you to simply ask a question to access important investor information.

“The Assistant can answer common questions, such as ‘how do I sell my shares?’ and ‘how do I know the value of my shareholdings?’ Over time, capability will expand to provide more in-depth information about an investor’s individual account details via this channel,” said Link Group’s Technology & Innovation CEO Paul Gardiner.

Voice-recognition technology aligns with Link Group’s goal of making financial information and education more readily accessible to the everyday investor.

“Link Group is continually responding to how users are choosing to communicate and giving them tools that cater to their needs. That is why we developed natural language assistants, so that investors can talk to Link Market Services anywhere, at any time,” Mr Gardiner said.

Driving investor engagement

The latest additions to Link Group’s digital capabilities provide investors with more choice in the communication channels they can employ to manage their investment portfolio.

“Link Group will continue to invest in cutting-edge technology to empower investors to play a more active role in their portfolios and to support companies in creating more meaningful interactions with their shareholders.

“The market-leading product and technology solutions we offer allow us to be a true partner for our clients,” Mr Gardiner concluded.

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Boards still in the dark regarding their disclosure obligations in regard to ESG risks.

A major review into corporate governance practice has revealed many boards of ASX listed companies are still in the dark regarding their disclosure obligations in regard to environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks.

Company Matters Director Janine Rolfe says this is particularly apparent for newly listed entities and entities joining the S&P/ASX 300, many of which struggle to manage increased scrutiny from institutional investors and shareholder activists.

Ms Rolfe’s comments follow the release of KPMG’s analysis of listed entities’ disclosures against the ASX Corporate Governance Council Principles and Recommendations (Third Edition).

Ms Rolfe said an important finding from the KPMG Report is that there is a “significant variation in the disclosures in relation to Recommendation 7.4. which requires a listed entity to disclose whether it has any material exposure to economic, environmental and social sustainability risks, and if it does, how it manages or intends to manage those risks.”

According to Ms Rolfe: “Some disclosures simply aren’t compliant and are coming up short.”

“Even if economic, environmental and social sustainability risks are properly disclosed, many disclosures just stop there and don’t proceed to discuss how those risks are managed, or are intended to be managed.”

Ms Rolfe said: “In the lead up to the 2016 reporting season where ESG disclosures will sit squarely on the radar of proxy advisors and shareholder activists, we are encouraging boards to pay more attention to ESG reporting,”

Ms Rolfe says this is a challenge in itself given the current over-crowding on board agendas with culture , IT/cyber security, diversity and board skills as well as the more traditional focuses of financial reporting/audit and capital management all vying for necessary board meeting time.

“Companies need to ensure that they discuss their material exposure to each of the economic, environmental and social sustainability risks for completeness,” Ms Rolfe said.

On top of demanding improvement to risk management governance practices, shareholder groups and activists are also calling on boards to include megatrends in their risk profiling. Megatrends can be characterised as major global societal and transformative forces that present material risks and opportunities to companies and their shareholders – such as digitisation, climate change and population growth.

Ms Rolfe said there is “no doubt the risk related findings in the KPMG Report will be well received by shareholder groups,” who in recent years have agitated for greater disclosure of ESG investment risks.

She said “recognising ESG factors as critical to the financial performance of entities is key to both initial and ongoing investment decisions.”

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