Neuberger Berman Awarded Top PRI Scores For ESG Global Integration Efforts

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Jul 12, 2018, 09:00 ET

NEW YORK, July 12, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Neuberger Berman has been awarded top scores in the most recent UN-backed Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) assessment report of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) integration efforts as of year-end 2017. The firm improved its annual rating across every category and obtained the highest score, A+, for its overarching approach to ESG strategy and governance. In addition, the firm earned an A+ for ESG integration across the equity (incorporation), fixed income and private equity asset classes. Neuberger Berman is rated above the peer median on every category.

"These top scores reflect a concerted global effort to apply ESG criteria in the pursuit of investment outperformance. Engagement and judgment are fundamental to Neuberger Berman's mission to be responsible stewards of client capital, and ESG-aware investing is core to that approach," said George Walker, CEO of Neuberger Berman.

Jonathan Bailey, Head of ESG at Neuberger Berman, said: "Neuberger Berman believes that material ESG characteristics are an important driver of long-term investment returns from both an opportunity and a risk-mitigation perspective. We understand that for many of our clients the impact of their portfolio is an important consideration in conjunction with investment performance."

Neuberger Berman has a long history as a leader in responsible investing with efforts including:

Formal evaluation of financially material ESG factors as a core responsibility of all credit and equity analysts as well as the private equity investment team.
Proprietary ESG research, data analytics and asset-class specific ESG ratings.
Proven record of innovative ESG-integrated investment strategies dating back to 1989.
Commitment to engagement across equities and fixed income as detailed in the Neuberger Berman Engagement and Proxy Report.
Collaborator and supporter of various industry-wide efforts, including as a leading participant in the PRI-supported Climate Action 100+, Bondholder Engagement Initiative, and the Credit Rating Agencies initiative.
Dedicated ESG Investing team, ESG Committee, and Board oversight of ESG Investing strategy.

Neuberger Berman has been a signatory to the PRI since 2012. Neuberger Berman's transparency report can be found at www.nb.com/esg.

The United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment works to understand the investment implications of environmental, social and governance factors and to support its international network of investor signatories in integrating these factors into their investment and ownership decisions. For more information, please see www.unpri.org

About Neuberger Berman

Neuberger Berman, founded in 1939, is a private, independent, employee-owned investment manager. The firm manages a range of strategies—including equity, fixed income, quantitative and multi-asset class, private equity and hedge funds—on behalf of institutions, advisors and individual investors globally. With offices in 20 countries, Neuberger Berman's team is more than 1,900 professionals. For four consecutive years, the company has been named first or second in Pensions & Investments Best Places to Work in Money Management survey (among those with 1,000 employees or more). Tenured, stable and long-term in focus, the firm fosters an investment culture of fundamental research and independent thinking. It manages $299 billion in client assets as of March 31, 2018. For more information, please visit our website at www.nb.com.

All information is as of March 31, 2018 unless otherwise indicated and is subject to change without notice. Firm data, including employee and assets under management figures, reflects collective data for the various affiliated investment advisers that are subsidiaries of Neuberger Berman Group LLC. Firm history/timeline includes the history of all firm subsidiaries, including predecessor entities and acquisitions.

PRI grades are based on information reported directly by PRI signatories, of which investment managers totaled 1,120 for 2018. All signatories are eligible to participate and must complete a questionnaire to be included. The underlying information submitted by signatories is not audited by the PRI or any other party acting on its behalf. Signatories report on their responsible investment activities by responding to asset-specific modules in the Reporting Framework. Each module houses a variety of indicators that address specific topics of responsible investment. Signatories' answers are then assessed and results are compiled into an Assessment Report. The Assessment Report includes indicator scores – summarizing the individual scores achieved and comparing them to the median; section scores – grouping similar indicator scores together into categories (e.g. policy, assurance, governance) and comparing them to the median; module scores – aggregating all the indicator scores within a module to assign one of six performance bands (from E to A+). Awards and ratings referenced do not reflect the experiences of any Neuberger Berman client and readers should not view such information as representative of any particular client's experience or assume that they will have a similar investment experience as any previous or existing client. Awards and ratings are not indicative of the past or future performance of any Neuberger Berman product or service.

This material is being issued on a limited basis through various global subsidiaries and affiliates of Neuberger Berman Group LLC. Please visit www.nb.com/disclosure-globalcommunications for the specific entities and jurisdictional limitations and restrictions.

The "Neuberger Berman" name and logo are registered service marks of Neuberger Berman Group LLC.

Media Contacts:

(Americas) Alexander Samuelson, 212 476 5392, [email protected]
(Europe) Joanna Pope, 44 203 214 9087, [email protected]
(Asia) Kay So, 852 3664 8850, [email protected]
(Japan & Korea) Kiyoko Yamaguchi, 81352181926, [email protected]