Redington, the independent investment consultancy, has launched a platform designed to enable asset holders to take control of their stewardship activities, and to “hold their investment managers to account”.
The Enhanced Stewardship Platform (ESP), which is underpinned by Redington’s proprietary technology platform Ada Fintech, will focus on reporting, assessment, and engagement as it aims to place the appraisal of stewardship in the hands of clients, rather than investment managers.
Paul Lee, head of stewardship and sustainable investment strategy at Redington, will lead the proposition alongside global head of sustainable investment, Anastasia Guha. Lee (pictured) said: “We are providing the tools not only to ensure clients keep up with regulatory standards but also to tailor reporting and analysis to what matters most to them, focussed on their most material holdings and the issues that they care about.”
Lee, who joined Redington in June 2021, said stewardship was one of the most powerful sustainable investment tools available to asset owners, and argued that it is directly applicable to all asset classes. However, he said it was an area where asset owners remained overly reliant on their investment managers for reporting insights into areas such as engagement and voting.
The modular service will provide aggregated reporting of engagement and voting activity across all appointed fund managers, an assessment of quality and consistency of engagement and voting, and a measurement of how well manager activities align with client policies and priorities.
“Investment managers have tended to focus on the stories they most want to tell rather than on the investments and issues that matter most to clients. Our new ESP service aims to turn this on its head and allows clients to take ownership of their stewardship reporting and assessment, removing this dependence on their managers. Through these new insights, they can challenge managers more effectively and hold them more fully to account,” Lee said.
Patrick O’Sullivan, head of investment consulting at Redington, said: “Not all engagement is created equally. This is about giving asset owners the tools to understand what their managers are doing and whether it is good enough – and if it isn’t, empowering them to hold them to account and deliver the necessary messages calling for change.”
This article first appeared on ESG Clarity’s sister title Portfolio Adviser.