 | Corporate governanceCorporate governance is the framework that underpins how companies are directed, managed and controlled. We consider that good corporate governance acts as a fundamental safeguard for long-term shareholder interests. We consider environmental, social and governance risks and opportunities to be core to the creation of long-term shareholder value. As a founding signatory to the UN Principles for Responsible Investment, we have fully integrated the commitment into our investment approach. |  Relevant LinksDownloads | ||
Corporate Governance GuidelinesAs part of its commitment to good corporate governance F&C prepares annually a series of Corporate Governance Guidelines for a number of key jurisdictions around the world to guide our voting activities. These Guidelines are intended to give companies a practical sense of how we are likely to vote on their stock, and they outline F&C’s thinking on individual issues and resolutions. F&C updates these Guidelines every year and sends these to the companies in F&C’s own portfolio and to the companies in the portfolios of our reo® clients. In applying our policies and guidelines in our voting, we seek to evaluate each company’s case on its merits, and rely on judgment and dialogue with companies to ensure a reasonable and pragmatic outcome. While we strongly encourage companies to adopt commonly-accepted standards of good practice, we also appreciate that exceptions may be legitimate in some cases and are open to taking special considerations when so warranted. F&C believes that certain principles of good governance are universal, yet we also appreciate that practices vary across markets; we therefore strive to take a nuanced position that reflects the particular circumstances of each market that reflect differing stages of economic and financial development, ownership structures, legal regimes and regulatory requirements. Specific F&C corporate governance guidelines exist for the following jurisdictions: Operational Guidelines (General) Operational Guidelines for France (in English) Operational Guidelines for Germany (in English) Operational Guidelines for Japan (in English) Operational Guidelines for Japan (in Japanese) Operational Guidelines for The Netherlands (in English) Operational Guidelines for The United Kingdom Operational Guidelines for The United States Additional supplements exist for the following jurisdictions:
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F&C corporate governance and investingWe seek to encourage best practice through regular dialogue with company management and by fully exercising voting rights across markets. In addition, we work with regulators, industry bodies and other like minded investors to strengthen the regulatory environment and contribute towards the development of best practice.
In the spirit of transparency, we publish our monthly Voting Record which provides a detailed report of our voting activity across all F&C retail and institutional funds. Our voting record reflects our underlying commitment to Responsible Ownership, which is underpinned by a more detailed set of Corporate Governance Operational Guidelines. | Responsible Investment Reports |