Stefanie Drews

Nikko Asset Management Co., Ltd. (Nikko AM) has been certified as carbon neutral for the first time, after entering into a carbon offset programme with the UK-based international organisation Carbon Footprint Ltd.

Nikko AM’s Corporate Sustainability Department aggregated the travel and financial data from the Firm’s global offices in Tokyo, Singapore, Sydney, Melbourne, Auckland, New York, and London. In line with the findings and its commitment to the UN’s SDG goal #13: “Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts” the department reached out to Carbon Footprint Ltd. to offset the emissions. The offsets will be used to fund the installation of renewable solar PV cells into the Indian National Grid for diversification of energy sources and sustainable growth. This also contributes to sustainable employment, improved healthcare, sanitation and education to the local communities.

Nikko AM Senior Corporate Managing Director and Head of Corporate Sustainability Stefanie Drews said, “Our company strives to be a leader in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG), both in the way we manage our own operations as well as our approach to investing. This carbon neutral certification will be a powerful asset to our business as it provides a third-party verifiable measurement to show institutional and other investors who are placing a growing importance on ESG. The certification also motivates our employees and stakeholders to be conscious of their own environmental impact.” 

Carbon Footprint Ltd. was founded in 2005, and helps companies to calculate, reduce and offset their carbon emissions. The company is independently audited for maximum transparency, and a recognised authority on carbon footprinting. 

This carbon neutral announcement comes on the heels of Nikko AM’s first annual report presenting activities aligned with the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). The Firm’s other internal ESG activities include employee working groups on the environment, diversity and inclusion, as well as charitable contributions to the UNHCR and others.

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Nikko has established a Corporate Sustainability Department.

Nikko Asset Management Co., Ltd. (“Nikko AM”) has announces the establishment of its Corporate Sustainability Department, bolstering its Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) commitments both in the way in which it manages itself and how it approaches investing.

Overseen by Representative Director and Executive Deputy President Junichi Sayato and led day to day from Tokyo by Global Head of Product & Marketing, and Head of Corporate Sustainability Stefanie Drews, the Department guides the Firm’s internal ESG commitments and implementation, and will work closely with investment teams globally to communicate developments in their approach to ESG in investment processes. Specific internal ESG commitments include nurturing diversity and inclusion for LGBT, women, and those living with disability; monitoring adherence to local Corporate Governance Codes; and minimizing impact on the environment.

Junichi Sayato said, “As a fiduciary, we hold ourselves to the highest standards of responsibility with regards to ESG, in both how we manage ourselves and in the way in which we approach investment and work with our invested companies. Our clients are at the core of everything that we do, and this launch is further evidence of our efforts to deliver performance to them.”

As an element of this launch, the Firm has established a microsite featuring details on its ESG commitments and activities, as well as insights particularly regarding ESG in the investment process.

This launch further builds from the Firm’s ongoing internal ESG obligations, including its status as a member of LGBT Finance and adherence to the Women’s Empowerment Principles and the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI).

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Nikko AM has signed a statement of support for the Women’s Empowerment Principles.

Nikko Asset Management (“Nikko AM”) has announced that it has signed a statement of support for the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs).

Produced and disseminated by the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) and the United Nations Global Compact, the Principles present seven steps that business and other sectors can take to advance and empower women.

As one aspect of its efforts to foster a diverse and inclusive workforce, Nikko AM’s support for WEPs aims to deepen employee understanding of and respect for diversity and thereby nurture innovative approaches to meet its clients’ needs. Nikko AM aims to foster employee commitment to the following WEPs principles, and report progress:

• Principle 1: Establish high-level corporate leadership for gender equality
• Principle 2: Treat all women and men fairly at work – respect and support human rights and nondiscrimination
• Principle 3: Ensure the health, safety and well-being of all women and men workers
• Principle 4: Promote education, training and professional development for women
• Principle 5: Implement enterprise development, supply chain and marketing practices that empower women
• Principle 6: Promote equality through community initiatives and advocacy
• Principle 7: Measure and publicly report on progress to achieve gender equality

Junichi Sayato, Executive Deputy President of Nikko AM, said, “We signed because nurturing a diverse workforce is essential to our business, to effectively serve our clients. Diversity is indeed one of our Firm’s core values, as identified by employees through a bottom up assessment and fully supported by management. The empowerment of women is a core aspect of this commitment, and we look forward to working with WEPs to realize it. ”

At the same time, Nikko AM has appointed Global Head of Product & Marketing Stefanie Drews to the newly created role of Diversity Advocate, with oversight for ensuring inclusion and transparency in all aspects of diversity in its workforce. Stefanie represents twenty years of financial services 2 experience spanning London and Tokyo, and as a woman in an industry known for a lack of diversity particularly at senior levels, understands the challenges faced.

Stefanie said, “Operating across nine countries, Nikko AM employees represent thirty nationalities and it is this diversity that allows us to pursue our mission to provide sustainable progressive solutions to our clients. I look forward to facilitating and contributing to this important effort .”

Read more about the principles.

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Nikko Asset Management is a related entity of Tyndall Investment Management Limited. Drews was most recently Global Head of Key Clients and Family Offices at Barclays Wealth and Investment Management in London. She will be relocating to Tokyo later in 2014 to assume her new role.

“We feel very fortunate to have Stefanie join Nikko Asset Management as we take our institutional business to the next level,” said Hideo Abe, Executive Vice Chairman of Nikko Asset Management. “She has had a distinguished career in the investment and wealth management industry and we are very confident that her contributions will greatly improve the customer experience for institutional clients.”

Drews will be responsible for developing and managing the institutional proposition working closely with the firm’s investment, operational and distribution teams globally. She will manage institutional product, marketing and cross border specialist groups in Nikko Asset Management’s locations around the world. Her role was created in line with the firm’s strategy of increasing its business in the institutional arena.

Prior to Barclays, Drews was a Managing Director in Morgan Stanley’s Private Wealth Management business, where she ran a highly successful investment management program for institutional clients as well as high-net-worth individuals. She is a graduate of the Harvard University Graduate School of Business Administration and received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Oxford University.

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