Manulife Investment Management releases second annual stewardship report emphasizing key aspects for sustainable investment outcomes

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Apr 28, 2022, 08:03 ET

BOSTON and LONDON, April 28, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Manulife Investment Management recently announced the release of its second annual stewardship report. The report details the firm's continued commitment to effective stewardship practices and provides enhanced disclosure regarding those activities, including its collaboration and application of stewardship across public and private markets. In addition, the report discusses three key aspects of the firm's approach to asset ownership and management to achieve more sustainable outcomes for clients and stakeholders.

The three aspects of its stewardship practices that the firm sees as prerequisite to sustainable investment outcomes are as follows:

Asset stewardship and the evolving role of global capital—There's a fundamental shift in expectations of both investors and corporations from being passive participants in the global economy to being active players expected to play a material role in change for the benefit of the wider society. With this shift comes responsibility for asset managers who are assessing and, at times, directly influencing the design and execution of corporate and sovereign plans for mitigating environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risks and capturing potential opportunities.

The power of international collective action—Identifying the financial impact of ESG issues is crucial to drawing a collective consensus toward action. Manulife Investment Management has seen firsthand through work with groups such as Climate Action 100+ that collective action is helping investors become more effective and sophisticated in what they require of investee companies.

Regional differences matter for stewardship —Truly effective systemic risk mitigation requires a multipronged approach across asset classes, as well as sensitivity to regional political and cultural differences. One way Manulife Investment Management seeks to address systemic risks is by working with systemically important companies. For example, recognizing that more than half of the world's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions come from Asia, the firm endeavors to engage with the region's energy and heavy industry companies. Even without holdings, if engaging with these influential companies can help move the dial on reducing systemic climate risks, then all of the firm's client portfolios may stand to benefit globally.

"Active ownership is a central component of our investment and ESG integration processes. And through our stewardship activities, we practice sustainable asset management to preserve and unlock value within our portfolios," said Paul Lorentz, president and CEO, Manulife Investment Management. "As an active investment manager, we see facilitating the aggregate corporate shift from stating the material facts to performing the material actions of sustainability as one of the more critical tasks of stewardship in the present decade and imperative to the pursuit of sustainable investment value."

Collaboration is essential

Collaborative initiatives, in which the firm partners with others to magnify its ability to influence outcomes, is a valuable aspect of Manulife Investment Management's stewardship activities. Notable collaborative activities in 2021 included:

Participation in the working group that became the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures
Serving as a founding member of Climate Engagement Canada as a result of the success of Climate Action 100+, which Manulife Investment Management co-founded in 2017
Becoming a signatory to the Finance for Biodiversity Pledge, in alignment with the viewpoint that the degradation of biodiversity is a significant risk
Continued collaboration through Phase II of the United Nations Environment Program Finance Initiative, aimed at developing new climate risk assessment methodologies and researching sector-specific climate risks and opportunities

Peter Mennie, global head of ESG research and integration, public markets, Manulife Investment Management, said, "As sustainable investors, we're at a unique nexus within the financial system, allowing us the opportunity to engage with corporations as well as regulators and society at large, to encourage and promote action to address the crucial issues that face us all."

Stewardship application across asset classes

Alongside its collaborative activity, Manulife Investment Management engaged with more than 1,300 parties in 2021, including over 800 issuers and 126 influencers, regulators, nongovernmental organizations, governments, and vendors. Importantly, Manulife Investment Management shifted focus from the number of conversations to an emphasis on measuring the impact of efforts to mitigate material sustainability risks. There was a strong focus on environmental factors in the firm's 2021 public markets engagements, with GHG emissions discussed in 20% of meetings and energy management on the agenda in 16% of meetings.

In 2021, these engagement efforts resulted in progress toward, among other matters, more net-zero commitments from issuers; better diversity, equity, and inclusion reporting; and collaboration with industry peers on advancing gender diversity issues.

Within private markets, Manulife Investment Management directly operates timberland, real estate, and agricultural assets where sustainability is woven into operational strategies and execution to raise the bar of sustainable investing. Within private equity, credit, and infrastructure, deep relationships enhance the firm's influence over key assets and portfolio companies.

In 2021, notable actions across private markets included:

The launch of the inaugural climate disclosure report on timberland and agriculture, detailing the approach to climate-related governance, strategy, risk management, and metrics and targets
An assessment across the global real estate portfolio that resulted in the implementation of a new building standard requirement to address climate risk and resilience
Adoptions of sustainable investing frameworks to support the firm's approach to sustainable investing for both its infrastructure and private equity and credit businesses

Brian J. Kernohan, chief sustainability officer, private markets, Manulife Investment Management, stated, "In our private markets portfolios, we invest in timberland, real estate, and agricultural assets that we simultaneously operate, which uniquely positions us to influence sustainable business practices. Within private equity, private credit, and infrastructure, deep relationships enhance our influence over key assets and portfolio companies enabling us to continuously engage with co-investors, investee companies, and business partners to encourage sustainable investing best practices while monitoring the ESG-related data available to help ensure the efficacy of this approach."

"Looking ahead, our focus will continue to be on outcomes-based engagements and setting ambitious goals to ensure our approach to stewardship is built on the tangible progress we've made to date," Mr. Lorentz concluded. "We recognize we can often magnify our voice by partnering with others and bringing our global perspective to help maximize impact."

About Manulife Investment Management
Manulife Investment Management is the global brand for the global wealth and asset management segment of Manulife Financial Corporation. We draw on more than a century of financial stewardship and the full resources of our parent company to serve individuals, institutions, and retirement plan members worldwide. Headquartered in Toronto, our leading capabilities in public and private markets are strengthened by an investment footprint that spans 19 geographies. We complement these capabilities by providing access to a network of unaffiliated asset managers from around the world. We're committed to investing responsibly across our businesses. We develop innovative global frameworks for sustainable investing, collaboratively engage with companies in our securities portfolios, and maintain a high standard of stewardship where we own and operate assets, and we believe in supporting financial well-being through our workplace retirement plans. Today, plan sponsors around the world rely on our retirement plan administration and investment expertise to help their employees plan for, save for, and live a better retirement. Not all offerings are available in all jurisdictions. For additional information, please visit manulifeim.com.

SOURCE Manulife Investment Management