Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) principles are ingrained in how we invest and are a mainstream part of the team’s ongoing research process.
We take our responsibility as active owners seriously. We have been a signatory of the UN PRI since October 2007¹ and continue to strive for improvement of the Principles. We are also members of the Responsible Investment Association Australasia, signatories to the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF) and support the Transition Pathway Initiative.
Where ESG issues are identified, we consider it to be an important part of the process to discretely communicate our concerns to the management or board of the company to seek progress on the issue. We have often found this to be a constructive process which results in more effective outcomes for all shareholders.
At the stock and security level our process is as follows:
As part of our research process, we utilise multiple channels to remain abreast of ESG issues. These include:
The methods by – and the degrees to – which ESG principles are applied to our investment analysis and processes for the range of registered managed investment schemes offered by Yarra Capital Management will vary from product to product. For further information on how ESG principles are relevant to each of these products, please refer to our Product Disclosure Statements.
¹ Goldman Sachs Asset Management Australia was the UN PRI signatory between October 2007 and December 2016. Yarra Capital Management was established in 2017 following the 2016 management buyout of Goldman Sachs Asset Management’s Australian-focused investment capabilities, backed by private equity firm TA Associates.