Global asset managers wield sizeable influence on environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices at investee companies because they are often among the largest shareholders in given companies.
This report analyzes how ten of the world’s largest asset managers engaged with portfolio companies and exercised proxy votes regarding fundamental labour rights during annual general meetings (AGMs) in 2024.
Some top-level highlights from the brief:
- The world’s top five asset managers (BlackRock, Vanguard, Fidelity Investments, State Street Global Advisors, and J.P. Morgan Asset Management), all US-headquartered, showed low support (less than 22% alignment with the CWC view) for 2024 shareholder resolutions promoting freedom of association and collective bargaining.
- Conversely, their non-US counterparts (UBS Asset Management, Amundi, Legal & General Investment Management, SUMI Trust, and Macquarie Asset Management) voted in support of the proxy votes the majority of the time (over 71% alignment with the CWC view).
- Only four of the ten asset managers analyzed (BlackRock, Vanguard, UBS Asset Management, and Legal & General Investment Management) publicly disclosed their proxy voting rationale — an important data point for clients to understand the signals being sent to companies by firms that manage their capital, and for companies to process shareholder expectations.
- Six of the ten managers analyzed (BlackRock, Vanguard, State Street Global Advisors, J.P. Morgan Asset Management, UBS Asset Management, and Amundi) provided at least one case study in their 2023/2024 reporting that showcases how they might address and/or escalate allegations of labour rights violations at portfolio companies.
- The newer trend of split stewardship, where a given asset manager may engage with the same companies according to a different set of values, heightens the risks of sending mixed signals to portfolio companies and may decrease the clout of “impact” relative to “financial” materiality-focused ESG from key managers.
How asset owners (staff and/or trustees) can use this report:
- Identify whether your fund uses any of the asset managers listed in this report.
- Write to your client relationship manager and to the head of ESG stewardship at the asset managers you use, and ask that they review the report and respond to the key findings.
