We work with asset owners to improve the accountability of their asset managers on social issues
Although asset owners sit at the top of the investment chain, establishing accountability from their asset managers on labour-related issues – the “S” in "ESG" - is among the major challenges faced by trustees striving to responsibly steward workers’ capital.
The CWC Asset Manager Accountability Initiative aims to shift the balance of power in the investment chain by enabling asset owners to hold the asset managers they contract accountable, driving meaningful improvements in workers’ rights at the company level.
The CWC launched the Asset Manager Accountability Initiative in 2019 to support trustees and unions in raising workers’ rights issues with asset managers.
As part of this initiative, the CWC is producing report cards on 10 global asset managers. The asset manager report cards examine the policy interventions, shareholder engagements and proxy voting records of these managers, uncovering any discrepancies between discourse and action on social issues. Using the report cards as a basis, we are organizing meetings between asset managers and pension fund trustees in the CWC’s global network to launch a constructive dialogue aimed at elevating social issues within the investment chain.
The Asset Manager Accountability Initiative is designed to produce outcomes at three levels:
- Accountability at the company level: Improve conditions on the ground in specific cases brought forward by unions where companies are violating workers’ rights;
- Accountability within the investment chain: Organize asset owners to reassert the balance of power by holding the asset managers they contract accountable on social issues;
- Accountability within the financial system: Provide asset owners with opportunities to press for mechanisms at the policy and regulatory levels that advocate for mandatory due diligence.
To read about the initiative, click here.