Funds Industry Report - Flipbook - Page 5
Ann Prendergast State Street Global Advisors
and for just 12% in other listed companies. With
assets and long-term business strategy are
almost 30% of boards still all male as of March
resilient to that change.
2019, the government’s rst Better Balance for
Better Business report is welcome.
We would like our portfolio companies to
provide more detailed analysis and reporting of
Responding to the slow pace of change, State
climate risks, and have used our proxy vote to
Street Global Advisors placed Fearless Girl in
promote greater transparency around such
New York’s nancial district in 2017 and called
risks. In 2016, we became the rst large invest-
on companies around the globe to increase
ment manager to vote against management in
female board representation. The statue was
support
placed to ignite a conversation about the
calling on oil, gas, and utilities companies to
importance of gender diversity in corporate
disclose more information on how climate
leadership – and that she most certainly did.
change is affecting their business.
Since then, we have identied over 1000 com-
Globally, sustainable investing assets in the ve
panies in our portfolios with no women on
major markets stood at $30.7 trillion at the start
their boards. We voted against more than 500
of 2018, up 34% in two years. Developments
of these companies in 2017, increasing this to
such as the United Nation's Principles for
over 600 in the second year of the campaign,
Responsible Investing, commitments by inves-
for failing to take steps toward adding a female
tors to the Task Force on Climate-related
board director. By the end of the second year,
Financial Disclosure (TCFD), the COP21 Paris
423 of those companies had added a female
Agreement,
director to their previously all-male boards and
Goals, together with the severe weather events
another 22 committed to doing so.
and increasing forest res, have pushed
of
certain
UN
shareholder
Sustainable
proposals
Development
climate change towards the top of investors’
Fearless Girl serves as a symbol – a reminder
agendas. This is shaping the nancial indus-
that gender diversity in corporate leadership
try's response and helping investors see ESG
can yield better performance. But she has
factors in terms of both opportunity and risk.
gone way beyond that now; she has become a
real symbol of the spirit of women.
Sustainability & Climate
In Ireland, the government’s “Ireland for
Finance” strategy to develop the international
Just as climate change is a risk to the global
nancial services sector includes sustainable
environment, it also represents a considerable
nance as one of its three “horizontal” priori-
challenge for the investment industry. Through
ties. Whilst Ireland has done some signicant
another strand of our active stewardship
work in this sector, including the rst sovereign
program, we have called on boards to consider
green bond issued in late 2018 and a steadi-
climate change as they would any other signi-
ly-increasing ow of investment into ESG
cant risk and to ensure that the company’s
funds, action points will be identied with a
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