Investment professionals

Engagement Review

The Co-operative Asset Management has just published its Winter Engagement Report, available online by clicking here In it, we outline some of our latest and ongoing engagements on issues as varied as operating in Zimbabwe, poultry welfare and water disclosure. We explore some of the issues around the corporate governance of News Corp. and BSkyB and explain what we, as responsible investors, consider when deciding whether to invest and how to use our vote. We've also been busy contributing to a number of industry consultations on corporate governance best practice and expand on some of our thoughts. But our biggest news is our selection by NEST, the National Employment Savings Trust, to provide responsible ownership services to them. Previous quarterly reports are available below or on request via tcam@cfs.coop

In our last Annual Engagement Report 2010 we also illustrated our dedication to leading by example, providing a thorough account of our implementation of the six principles of the United Nations-backed Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) throughout last year. We also looked back at the Good Companies Guide 2009, which highlighted some very thought-provoking trends in the areas of gender balance and executive pay. The Annual Review further described how we have put our Ethical Engagement Policy into practice, offering readers numerous fascinating case studies on how our interaction with companies led to impressive results in the areas deemed most important by our clients.

Highlights included our shareholder resolutions on oil sands at BP and Royal Dutch Shell, our work to encourage companies to manage their forest footprint and successfully lobbying for the UK Corporate Governance Code to ask for board directors to be put up for re-election annually as well as for boards to consider gender diversity. These examples bring the Ethical Engagement Policy to life for our customers. They have the additional benefit of enhancing our understanding of the risks and opportunities facing companies and their competence to navigate them all of which is grist for our mill in trying to pick companies that offer sustainable returns.

We would be delighted for any feedback on both our annual and quarterly reviews, and invite you to get in touch via tcam@cfs.coop. Should you wish to obtain a print copy of the Annual Review 2009/10, please do not hesitate to contact us at the above address and we will be happy to post one to you.

Please also find below links to the most recent editions of our quarterly engagement reports. These regular updates complement our Annual Engagement Review and will be available on our website so clients have access to information on our ongoing implementation of the ethical engagement policy and how our engagement activities are seeking to add value to our investments. These reports on Responsible Investing are intended to illustrate to our clients how we are integrating ESG considerations into our investment process and upholding their values on a daily basis.