ESG risks are business risks. Understanding how a company’s exposure to material ESG factors relates to its corporate strategy is a fundamental consideration for long-term investors.

True to our investment process, we employ a bottom-up approach to ESG. We use our proprietary ESG scorecard to identify and monitor material ESG factors unique to each investment.  

Yes, our philosophy and process are consistent across the firm.  

None of our products are explicitly branded as ESG strategies. We feel active ownership and prudent consideration of ESG factors are key components of any strategy seeking to invest in enduring businesses over the long term. 

Every member of our investment team is tasked with considering ESG risks and opportunities. We do not have a dedicated individual focused exclusively on ESG factors, as we believe better investment outcomes can be achieved when the same people evaluate all risks and opportunities in context. We have an ESG Committee that coordinates our efforts. The ESG Committee reports directly to our Board of Directors, which helps set priorities and oversee initiatives.

We are a signatory to the UN-supported Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI). Part of our commitment is to formally report and receive feedback on our ESG activities annually.

We are also members of the Canadian Coalition for Good Governance (CCGG), the pre-eminent corporate governance organization in Canada.

In 2021 we publicly endorsed CCGG’s Stewardship Principles, further formalizing our commitment to be active and effective stewards of our investments.

While companies in high-risk and/or controversial industries are not explicitly excluded from consideration on a policy basis, these types of companies are less likely to meet our investment criteria.

Using our proprietary ESG scorecard, we carefully consider company-specific issues on a case-by-case basis within our investing framework.

Through regular engagement with management teams and board directors, we can better understand a company’s overall strategy, communicate our expectations as long-term shareholders, and identify potential impacts on business or financial performance.

We generally focus on company-specific issues. In prioritizing resources, we may consider factors such as the size of the holding and the materiality of the ESG issue to our long-term investment case.

Escalation of a material concern could include voting action, further engagement with the board, a reduction in exposure or divestment.

We may use third-party research to bolster our independent analysis. We do not rely on external ESG scores or ratings in our process.