Robeco, The Investments Engineers

Active ownership

Actively exercising our stewardship responsibilities is an integral part of Robeco’s SI approach. We believe that being active owners of the companies in which we invest contributes to both investment results and society. We are experienced in using engagement to seek improvements in the sustainable characteristics of companies, and voting on issues at shareholder meetings.


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Stewardship

Stewardship means responsibly managing the assets that have been entrusted to us, and reporting openly on how we uphold sustainability principles when doing so. Actively exercising our stewardship responsibilities is an integral part of Robeco’s SI approach.

It is closely aligned with our investment mission – to use research-based, quality-driven processes to produce the best possible long-term results for our clients. Therefore, our stewardship activities are aimed at long-term value creation in our wide range of portfolios.

Stewardship Approach and Guidelines


Robeco Stewardship Report 2023


Active ownership reporting

Keeping clients and stakeholders informed of our stewardship activities is an important element of exercising our responsibilities. Every quarter we outline the highlights of our active ownership activities, providing insight into our voting and engagement achievements, trends we observe, and the major themes we’re following.

Highlights of our active ownership activities


Facts & figures

Source: Robeco, Stewardship Report 2023

*The assets-under-engagement/voting figures shown below are based on Robeco’s equity and credit portfolios for which we conduct engagements and voting. Robeco also votes and engages with clients whose portfolios are run by other asset managers; we call these ‘overlay clients’. In 2023, we had 11 overlay clients, representing roughly EUR 300 billion in assets.


143EUR

billion assets under engagement*

73

markets voted

292

companies engaged

76EUR

billion assets under voting*

65%

cases closed successfully

25

engagement themes

319

engagement cases

59%

meetings voted against management

7,042

shareholder meetings voted

72,432

proposals we voted on

Where we engage and vote

Where we engage and vote

How we progress (Themes and companies under engagement)

How we progress (Themes and companies under engagement)

Proxy voting results

Robeco votes at around 8,000 shareholder annual general meetings every year. Transparency is a vital part of sustainability, therefore we publish our voting records on our website and in quarterly and annual reports. Robeco has not been afraid to vote against contentious proposals or resolutions at shareholder meetings, and has often voted against the reappointment of directors who have not fulfilled their obligations to good governance, including issues of remuneration.

ShareAction ranks Robeco best
Robeco’s commitment to using its vote was recognized in January 2024 by ShareAction, the UK-based research group. Its latest survey assessing how 69 of the world’s largest asset managers voted at company AGMs in 2023 ranked Robeco among the best for voting on shareholder resolutions addressing environmental and social issues. It follows ShareAction’s 2023 report in which Robeco was the only one of 77 asset managers given an AA rating for sustainable investing.

How we voted Shareholder meetings


Proxy voting results

Stewardship & collaboration

Robeco believes strongly in collaboration in a rapidly changing world. We therefore work with a wide range of international organizations as part of our commitment to making financial markets more sustainable. We are signatories to a diverse array of global initiatives, such as the Principles for Responsible Investment, the United Nations Global Compact and the International Corporate Governance Network. We are also members of more bespoke initiatives such as the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change, the Transition Pathway Initiative. Put simply, we believe we are stronger together.

Relevant codes and memberships


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In all cases where historical performance is presented, please note that past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results and should not be relied upon as the basis for making an investment decision. Investors may not get back the amount originally invested. Neither Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. nor any of its affiliates guarantees the performance or the future returns of any investments. If the currency in which the past performance is displayed differs from the currency of the country in which you reside, then you should be aware that due to exchange rate fluctuations the performance shown may increase or decrease if converted into your local currency. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. (“Robeco”) expressly prohibits any redistribution of the Information without the prior written consent of Robeco. The Information is not intended for distribution to, or use by, any person or entity in any jurisdiction or country where such distribution or use is contrary to law, rule or regulation. Certain information contained in the Information includes calculations or figures that have been prepared internally and have not been audited or verified by a third party. Use of different methods for preparing, calculating or presenting information may lead to different results. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. is authorised as a manager of UCITS and AIFs by the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets and subject to limited regulation in the UK by the Financial Conduct Authority. Details about the extent of our regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority are available from us on request.