Sustainable investing

What is sustainable investing?

ESG stands for Environmental, Social and Governance. Analysing these factors can be a key way to assess the sustainability and social impact of an investment in a company or a business. At Fidelity, we use the term ‘sustainable investing’ to encompass ESG issues and related topics in this continually evolving area.

Why is ESG important?

• Environmental considerations involve looking at the impact companies have on their environment and focusing on issues such as climate change, pollution, waste management and the use of natural resources.
• Social factors include the ways companies affect society through, for example, their employment practices, and the safety and quality of their products.
• Governance refers to factors such as a company’s stated objectives, as well as its regulatory compliance, management structure and senior manager compensation.

Analysing ESG factors is a key way to assess the sustainability and social impact of an investment and to identify risks. Fund managers can factor this information into their investment decisions.

Investment stewardship

To find out how companies are performing on integrating ESG factors, fund managers may meet or consult executives and directors. The information they gather could influence the way they vote at shareholder meetings. For example, they may vote against a proposal if the company has not responded to questions about ESG issues or it they feel it is not acting in the long-term interests of its shareholders.

This process of engaging with company executives is known as stewardship, and its aim is to promote the long-term success of investments.

We carefully monitor the funds we offer through our Workplace pensions, and we expect all the fund managers we work with to outline how they engage with companies on ESG issues. In addition, we require them to measure the effectiveness of their strategy for engaging with companies in terms of how it benefits members of pension schemes and other investors. We also encourage fund management companies to become signatories of the PRI and the UK Stewardship Code.

Each of the fund management companies we work with is expected to have a shareholder engagement policy that complies with the EU’s Shareholder Rights Directive II. This directive is designed to encourage greater transparency on stewardship issues and make it easier for investors to understand their investments.

Read the Fund Managers’ shareholder engagement policies for FIL Life (Ireland) DAC Ltd

Read our Shareholder Engagement Policy

• Sustainable Investing Policy
• Engagement Policy

Please note that the Investment Manager’s focus on investing in companies which maintain strong environmental, social and governance (ESG) credentials may result in a return that at times compares unfavourably to similar funds without such focus. No representation or warranty is made with respect to the fairness, accuracy or completeness of such credentials. The status of a fund’s ESG credentials can change over time. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future returns.