Responsible Investment Contacts
Inquiries
ESG@invesco.com
Cathrine De Coninck-Lopez
Global Head of ESG
Cathrine.DeConinckLopez@invesco.com
Global Vote Disclosure
Invesco is committed to adopting and implementing responsible investment principles in a manner that is consistent with our fiduciary responsibilities to clients. We are also committed to our corporate sustainability efforts by being good stewards of the environment and to the local communities in which we serve. These efforts are demonstrated in our Environmental, Social and Governance Investment Stewardship Report, Corporate Social Responsibility Report and our Climate Change Report in line with the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures.
Please click here to view our ESG and other Thought Leadership publications.
Our Global Commitment to ESG Investing
We apply ESG concepts in several dimensions, from the products we offer and our investment processes, to our corporate behavior. Our approach focuses on integrating ESG risk and opportunity factors into investment decisions, differentiated by asset classes and decentralized by local investment centers. This integration extends to engagement and active ownership, and we discuss material ESG factors Our support for responsible investment comprises the following areas:
- Diverse Commitments to ESG
Due to Invesco's diversity, our investment strategies and styles vary in their approach to ESG implementation. This is underpinned by external research and a global team of experts working alongside our investment teams. We have the capabilities to manage ESG solutions depending on client need.
- Engaged Investors
We take our responsibility as active owners very seriously and see engagement as an opportunity to encourage continual improvement. Dialogue with investment companies is a core part of our investment process and one of the most powerful mechanisms for reducing risks, enhancing returns and having a positive impact on society and the environment.
- Proxy voting
Our patented proxy voting portal facilitates investment-led voting decisions. This proprietary tool encourages knowledge collaboration, leverages multiple sources of research and enables investors to focus on long-term shareholder value.
Invesco's Commitment to Industry Advocacy
"We believe that investing responsibly by incorporating sound environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices into activities across our firm can positively impact the value we provide to clients as well as the value we deliver to shareholders.."
- Marty Flanagan, President and CEO
Read Invesco's Environmental, Social and Governance Investment Stewardship Report
This inaugural report describes our approach to assessing and managing climate risks and opportunities across our investment process and business operations.
We adopt and implement ESG principles to align with our fiduciary responsibilities to our clients, and have strengthened our position through industry advocacy, leadership and innovation. We are signatories to the UN sponsored Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), UK Stewardship Code and Japan Stewardship Code. In the UK, Invesco was assessed as Tier 1 signatory of the Financial Reporting Council's Stewardship Code.
We are an active member of a variety of trade associations around the globe, including: UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association (UKSIF), Responsible Investment Association (RIA) in Canada, Asian Corporate Governance Association (ACGA) in Japan, and the Council of Institutional Investors (CII) in the US. We are also an investor partner with the UK Investor Forum, Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) and Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) while supporting the Task Force for Climate Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and Farm Animal Investment Risk & Return (FAIRR). We are members of the Institutional Investor Group on Climate Change (IIGCC) and have joined the World Economic Forum Coalition for Climate Resilient Investment (CCRI) as well as the Climate Action 100+. In 2020, we achieved an 'A+' rating for Strategy and Governance from the PRI for the fourth consecutive year. You can find a copy of Invesco's PRI Transparency Report at www.unpri.org.
The PRI is based on six key principles that serve as a foundational framework for large diversified investment managers to establish a well-articulated and supportive approach to ESG issues.
As part of our commitment to the PRI:
- We will incorporate ESG issues into investment analysis and decision-making processes.
- We will be active owners and incorporate ESG issues into our ownership policies and practices.
- We will seek appropriate disclosure on ESG issues by the entities in which we invest.
- We will promote acceptance and implementation of the Principles within the investment industry.
- We will work together to enhance our effectiveness in implementing the Principles.
- We will each report on our activities and progress toward implementing the Principles.
Our Approach to Active Ownership
Active ownership is an integral part of the investment process, and we see it as one of the most effective mechanisms to reduce risks, maximize returns and have a positive impact on society and the environment. We believe the voting of proxies should be managed with the same case as every other element of the investment process. Our patented, proprietary voting portal allows us to build upon our institutional base of knowledge and provides a global platform for active internal diligence.
Our investment managers champion our high conviction approach and this in turn reflects a purposeful focus to proxy voting. Our active ownership policies and practices include ongoing engagement with corporates, boards, and advisory bodies, on-site due diligence and an internal governance committee.
To view Invesco's global active ownership, voting and engagement statistics and case studies, please see our 2019 Environmental, Social and Governance Investment Stewardship Report.
Global Policy on Corporate Governance and Proxy Voting
Invesco's Global Policy sets forth the framework of our corporate governance approach, broad philosophy and guiding principles that support the proxy voting practices of our investment teams around the world. Due to the varied nature of the global regulatory environment and market practices, this policy may not apply to all teams at all times. In the case of a conflict between this Policy and the operating guidelines and procedures of a regional investment center the latter will control.
View Invesco's Global Policy on Corporate Governance and Proxy Voting
Proxy Voting Guiding Principles
We conduct deep research, including consideration of the environmental and social impacts, which guides our voting on the company's resolutions and leads to robust voting outcomes for our clients. The below principles guide our voting process in a manner that holds management accountable and places a primary focus on the interests of shareholders.
Maximizing the Shareholder Relationship
Active engagement and dialogue with our portfolio companies is a key element of our investment process.
Our investment teams may engage and, where necessary, question or challenge company management about ESG issues within the context of our fiduciary obligation to our clients. The occurrence, nature and content of those engagements are confidential, which we believe serves to facilitate the engagement process and provides better outcomes for our clients.
Furthermore, we ask that issuers not share any material non-public information (MNPI) during engagement calls and/or meetings. If any MNPI is shared with Invesco, we may ask that the information be disclosed publicly immediately.
Following an unsuccessful vote or engagement, Invesco may utilize escalation strategies, such as engaging directly with the company’s board and/or senior management, collaborating with fellow shareholders, sponsoring service provider engagement, reducing investment, and ultimately divesting.
Our four-step approach to engagement
In order to enhance Invesco's engagement with corporate issuers, please direct all requests to our global centralized mailbox at ESGengagements@invesco.com.
Research
Once the request is received, we look at all of our holdings by issuer, pull historical voting data and relevant research and identify all internal investors that hold the respective issuer across Invesco.
Key topics
In advance of a call, we ask that issuers provide a "key topics" list of discussion points that includes material changes to key items such as compensation, management or strategy.
Engagement
We believe that the most productive dialogue with our portfolio companies occurs outside peak voting season. Therefore, we suggest reaching out to Invesco in early fall of each year. Our proxy governance team reviews the nature of these requests, consults with the appropriate investors and decides whether to gather feedback on a topic and provide that feedback to an issuer, (ii) coordinate a call with the issuer and our investors if it is deemed to be necessary, or (iii) engage directly and serve as a liaison.