Underlying Fundamentals of Responsible Investment

It is of utmost importance to the Company to continuously offer high-quality asset management services to meet the needs of our clients, thereby contributing to the development of society and establishing trust through the asset management business. The Company also continuously seeks to achieve growth of our clients’ assets over medium-to-long investment. With these broad objectives in mind, the Company aims to practice Responsible Investment as fiduciary asset managers based on the following underlying fundamentals:

  • To act at all times in the best interest of its clients based on its expertise with care required to carry out the duties.
  • To ensure that conflicts of interest are handled in such a manner that ensures independency and protection of clients’ interests.
  • To properly exercise clients’ proxy rights and any other rights attached to the clients’ securities investments so as to maximise the interests of the clients.
  • To encourage investee companies to enhance corporate value and attain sustainable growth by engaging them through stewardship-related activities such as purposeful dialogue (i.e. engagement) and proxy voting to effectively address concerns relating to corporate governance and sustainability considerations to investee companies.

The Company therefore defines investment incorporating the aforesaid fundamentals as “Responsible Investment” and will make active efforts to pursue and practice such a manner of investment. To this end, the Company will, on an on-going basis, strive to achieve an effective and robust policy on Responsible Investment.

Policy on Responsible Investment

Based on the above, the Company’s policy on Responsible Investment would implement the following:

  • Measures to enhance knowledge on investee companies. This not only concentrates on the aspects of business and finance, but also non-financial information such as companies’ ESG practices, strategies and management philosophies.
  • Measures to encourage proactive purposeful dialogues (i.e. engagements) with investee companies. This would act as a medium to address corporate governance and sustainability considerations such as ESG and to monitor investee companies’ progress on such matters. Engagement practices with investee companies may vary depending on such companies’ business environment and circumstances.
  • Measures to encourage exercises of proxy voting in line with clients’ best interests and in favour of enhancing corporate value and sustainable growth in the investee companies’ management.
  • Measures to achieve efficient management of possible or actual conflict of interest situations through exercise of due care and caution, guided by established policies and standards as well as in conformity to applicable laws.

Responsible Investment Practices – Going Forward

Going forward and as an attestation of the Company’s commitment to Responsible Investment:

  • The Company’s policy on Responsible Investment would be published for public references.
  • The Company strives to continually assess its Responsible Investment policy and practices from time to time.
  • Periodic reports on the Company’s practices of Responsible Investment would be published as a measure to gauge the Company’s on-going progress to achieve its objectives and ideals as a Responsible Investor.