ESG spotlight: A roundup of the latest news on environmental, social and governance initiatives, including Railpen announcing a pushback against “unequal voting rights” and BlackRock giving its pension clients more say in how they take part in shareholder votes.
Railpen fights back against dual-class structures
Railpen, which manages £37bn in assets for the Railways Pension Scheme, has launched the Investor Coalition for Equal Votes in partnership with the US Council of Institutional Investors. The ICEV, which brings together $1tn (£819bn) in institutional assets, is “concerned that differential voting rights dilute the ability of public shareholders to positively influence company management and hold them to account where necessary”. To begin with, the ICEV will engage with pre-initial public offering companies and their advisers, along with policymakers, commentators and index providers in priority locations. Its ultimate goal is to prevent the further proliferation of dual-class share structures, without compulsory “time-based sunset clauses”, in areas including the US and the UK.
BlackRock offers more clients a suite of voting options
Nearly half of global index equity assets (47 per cent) are now eligible to take part in BlackRock’s Voting Choice initiative, which gives institutional investors more choice about how they take part in votes at shareholder meetings. A quarter of eligible investors, representing $530bn in assets, have opted to take part in the initiative. Eligible clients have the choice of controlling their own voting, delegating votes to BlackRock, making use of a mix of both or using off-the-shelf voting options from third-party proxy advisers. The asset manager said that it is also exploring how to include individual investors in the programme.
Border to Coast appoints equity managers
The £36bn Border to Coast Pensions Partnership has appointed Lindsell Train and Redwheel (formerly RWC Partners) as managers for its UK Listed Equity Alpha Fund. The companies will join Baillie Gifford and Janus Henderson Investors as managers of the fund. To avoid overexposure to a single investment style, the pool terminated UBS Asset Management’s mandate with the portfolio. “Maintaining and further developing the portfolio’s ESG and carbon credentials and profile was a key consideration when assessing external managers, given the importance of responsible investment and climate-related risks both to Border to Coast and its partner funds,” the pool stated.
This article first appeared on MandateWire.com
