Stewardship
By ‘stewardship’ we mean those activities relating to being a responsible steward of the companies in which we invest, and taking an active approach to our share-ownership and the influence this affords us. We take a long-term view, which we believe better supports sustainable, risk-adjusted returns for shareholders.
The activities described below apply to investments directly managed by Paradice Investment Management Pty Ltd
Engagement
Engagement refers to all interactions with companies, whether via direct meetings, calls, site tours, or written communications. We undertake engagement, through meeting or speaking with company management and boards. While our interactions also include a range of financial discussions, often these will be to ensure we fully understand the company’s ESG profile so we can feed this into our investment decision making. Where we have concerns that a risk is not being sufficiently managed or the company is not leveraging a certain opportunity, we also engage to drive change. We do so constructively and in the long-term interests of shareholders.
At times our ability to engage may be impacted by the size of our shareholding, resourcing constraints, the location of the company or the asset class in which we are investing. Nevertheless, we strive to be as active in engagement as practicable and prioritise our efforts accordingly.
Proxy voting
Carefully exercising our voting rights as shareholders is an important part of stewardship as it provides an additional means through which we can communicate with companies and drive change. Our investment teams consider each vote on its merits, taking a long-term view of potential outcomes. While we have access to external proxy voting advice, our investment teams take an active and independent approach to decision making, in line with our Proxy Voting Policy.
Collaboration
In addition to undertaking engagement directly ourselves, we are also participants in collaborative engagement initiatives such as Climate Action 100+ and Investors Against Slavery and Trafficking. Working alongside other institutional investors in such efforts can help amplify messages to companies as well as be more impactful than individual action in addressing systemic ESG risks such as climate change.
Advocacy
While advocacy can take many forms, it is generally undertaken in the interests of change with respect to ESG which we believe supports the long-term financial interests of our clients – whether at a company, sector, country or whole of system level. We are members of industry associations and investor organisations which support the mainstreaming of responsible investing within finance and advocate on ESG issues. For example, we are a signatory to the PRI and a member of Responsible Investment Association Australasia (RIAA). At times, we will also undertake advocacy activities ourselves such as through submissions to government consultations or participation in public debate and media commentary.
|
Principles for Responsible Investment |
£13,020 |
|
Responsible Investment Association Australasia |
A$13,800 |
|
Climate Action 100+ |
N/A |
|
Investors Against Slavery & Trafficking APAC |
N/A |
|
Tobacco Free Finance Pledge |
N/A |
|
Diversity Council of Australia |
A$1,830 |
|
FAIRR Initiative |
N/A |
