Stewardship

As a leader in the South African investment industry and global investor on behalf of our clients, we embrace good corporate citizenship and the importance of robust governance. We apply the highest standards of governance that provide protection for all our stakeholders.

Coronation was an early signatory to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investing (2007), and early adopters of the Code for Responsible Investing in South Africa (2012). We also endorse the objectives that underpin the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) UK Stewardship Code and comply, where appropriate, with the code in respect of the delivery of investment management services.

We incorporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into our investment decision-making process in a way that is fully consistent with our long-term investment horizon. We believe companies cannot achieve sustainable economic success while neglecting their social and environmental responsibilities. Social responsibility has the potential to increase the quality of a company’s earnings stream and consequently its long-term investment potential. In our view, ESG issues form an intrinsic part of the mosaic for any investment case. Poor ESG performance may not necessarily exclude investing in a company, but it does force us to carefully consider the issues and engage management on these factors.

Furthermore, we recognise the importance of focusing our attention and time on those ESG issues where we have expertise, and that can have the most meaningful impact on a company’s long-term prospects. To this end, we spend large amounts of time studying the corporate governance of the companies we invest in. We engage extensively with management and the board where needed.