rezonanz Unveils Groundbreaking 'Voting for Sustainability' Ranking
On Tuesday, December 3rd, we hosted a webinar to delve into the methodology behind Voting for Sustainability and share more about our rezonanz offering. It was a pleasure to welcome a diverse audience of asset managers, pension funds, and responsible investment organizations.
To kick off the session, we posed two key questions to the audience:
-Should we disclose all asset managers' ranks in future iterations of Voting for Sustainability?
-Should we disclose all pension funds' ranks in future iterations?
The response was a resounding yes for both questions. While the consensus was clear, the reasoning behind it was varied—offering valuable insights into the priorities and expectations of our participants. A detailed breakdown of the results is provided below.
Today, we are excited to announce the launch of our pioneering “Voting for Sustainability” Ranking. This innovative methodology represents a significant advancement in understandinghow asset managers' proxy voting practices align with sustainability goals. Byshedding light on the stewardship activities of asset managers, we aim topromote transparency and encourage active engagement in driving corporatesustainability.
A Collaborative Effort
Developed in collaboration with the Investor Impact Initiative integrating expertise from the ZHAW Center for Global Competitiveness, our ranking analyzes the voting records of some of the largest asset managers in the Swiss market at companymeetings globally. The core of this methodology lies in examining nearly 700votes deemed crucial for sustainability in 2023, as defined by the Ethos Foundation's voting recommendations.
Why Proxy Voting Matters
In the evolving investment landscape, there's a growing demand not just for financial returns but also for positive environmental impact. Traditional ESG approaches often focus on screening investments basedon predefined criteria. However, we’re convinced that true influence lies in investment stewardship and active engagement—using ownership rightsto transform corporate practices from within.
Innovative Methodology
Our ranking employs a unique, quantitative methodology from political science to assess the sustainability orientation of asset managers playing a major role in Switzerland based ontheir proxy voting records. Here's what’s behind it:
1. Data Collection andStandardization: We meticulously collected and standardized voting records from 13 influential asset managers in Switzerland, covering their votes at annual company meetings worldwide.
2. Defining “Sustainable”Votes: To maintain independence, we applied Ethos Foundation's definition of sustainability-relevant votes, using their expertvoting recommendations to define a sustainability benchmark.
3. Advanced StatisticalAnalysis: Utilizing sophisticated statistical models including Optimal Classification and Bayesian Item Response Theory(IRT), we captured the nuances of voting behaviors. This approach goes beyond simple percentages or agreement scores to provide a comprehensive view of each asset manager's orientation towards sustainability.
Key Findings
The 'Voting for Sustainability' Ranking offers atransparent and accountable metric underscoring asset managers' influence on corporate sustainability practices. By focusing on proxy voting—a critical yet often overlooked aspect of corporate governance—we highlight how asset managers can drive meaningful change.
A Call to Action
As the 2024 AGM season approaches, the 'Voting forSustainability' Ranking serves not only as a recognition of current leaders in sustainable finance but also as a call to action for all asset managers. We encourage them to integrate sustainability into their votingchoices, thereby actively contributing to long-term value creation and thus amore sustainable future.
📅 Set Up a Demo: To see how our 'Voting for Sustainability' Ranking can be integrated into your stewardship strategies, book a demo with our team today.
Looking Ahead
Our goal is to expand this ranking to cover dozens of asset managers worldwide by the end of 2024. By providing this unique analysis, we’re empower end investors and the public to make informed decisions and supportresponsible asset managers.
amplifying investors' voices to enable better decisions