It also means using our power as a shareholder and bondholder to effect change at companies whose environmental, social and governance (ESG) characteristics can be improved. And it means taking a stand on the major issues of our time, such as the megatrends of climate change, biodiversity and human rights.

All our work in this area is detailed in the 2022 Stewardship Report. As macroeconomic issues dominated the headlines, it was a busy year for stewardship in asset management, and for sustainable investing in general. We’re therefore pleased to report on everything from our responsibilities under stewardship codes, to wider engagement with investee companies, and our collaborations with others.

We begin with a lookback on a remarkable year, and how we’ve been growing our core sustainable investing capabilities, despite the macro headwinds. Keeping the faith with net zero commitments to tackle climate change was a major priority, while on the social side, we’ve campaigned to improve labor standards, while also launching a diversity and inclusion engagement theme.

We report on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and our new frameworks for this, and the public policy partnerships that further our commitments to SI. Finally, stewardship by definition means using active ownership to further sustainability objectives at all our investee companies. We therefore include detailed reports and examples about our engagement and voting activities in 2022.