Responsible investment
Investing responsibly is not a fad. For us, it is an investment belief. By building responsibility into all our investment processes, we aim to improve our risk management and investment performance while at the same time help to create more sustainable investment solutions fit for the future. As an active owner of capital, our scale and influence help us drive the change required to build a future our clients are able to retire into.
Our contribution to a changing world
Responsible investment is about creating long-term value for our clients and our ESG credentials can be traced back over 40 years. The business and investment cases for acting responsibly are hard to dispute these days. Companies that conduct their business in a respectful and sustainable way are more likely to succeed over time, benefiting both you and society. Bad practices don’t just hit the headlines, they hit the bottom line as well.
Whether investing in equities, bonds, real estate or infrastructure, integrating ESG into investment decisions and being responsible stewards of clients’ assets is non-negotiable for us. ESG factors can have a material risk on an investment and understanding these issues, and how they shape our economy and society, allows us to spot investment risks as well as opportunities.
It is only through commitment, passion and genuine collaboration that we can bring our sustainable aspirations to life. By thinking connectedly across asset classes, locations and our multiple stakeholders, we are able to instigate change through continual active engagement, voting and market reform initiatives.
Our highlights
Delivering a sustainable future will only happen if we all take action to create positive change. We have delivered for our clients by making active sustainable choices in how we invest and drive change in the world.
Our unique approach to responsible investing
We are united by a firm-wide ambition to work with and for our clients to do what is right for them, society and the world around us.
Responsibility in action
Explore the initiatives and accomplishments underpinning our commitment to delivering positive impact to our clients and the world around us.
Powering change
Voting with conviction
1 Jul 2020
We consider voting to be an important part of the investment process and have had a formal and considered voting policy since 1994. We have explicitly incorporated corporate responsibility disclosure and performance into our voting since 2001 - being one of the first asset managers to do so globally.
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Connected thinking
Connecting for climate change
1 Jul 2020
It is only by working with multiple stakeholders that you can deliver a positive impact – be they governments and central banks to charities and customers. Our work to tackle the climate emergency is one of the examples of how we do that.
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Connected thinking
Demonstrating connected thinking and thought leadership on deforestation
1 Jul 2020
We believe that accelerating environmental damage from climate, deforestation, ocean pollution, and loss of biodiversity all pose significant risk to economies and the corporate bottom line.
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Connected thinking
Connecting with wider stakeholders
1 Jul 2020
The The World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA) initiative is a great example of what can be achieved when stakeholders across civil society, business, governments and consumers connect their thinking and collaborate together to tackle some of the world’s biggest challenges.
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Responsibility built in
The ESG layers – from the macro view to a company profile
1 Jul 2020
Understanding how economies transition to a sustainable future is more than just an ESG score. Our ESG insights are developed through connected thinking across asset classes: from the macro view to a company profile, and from how we see the world to how we view a sovereign, a sector or a company.
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Powering change
Protecting human rights through the power of benchmarks
1 Jul 2020
We created the Corporate Human Rights Benchmark in 2013 with a view to use the competitive nature of markets to challenge companies to embed human rights in their organisation. 6 years on the benchmark is widely supported by companies, governments, investors and civil society. This is our update for 2019.
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Connected thinking
Power in numbers
1 Jul 2020
Nearly a third of all natural World Heritage sites are subject to extractive activity, despite protection from the UNESCO World Heritage Convention. Following a number of successful engagements on this topic, including SOCO International and BP, we helped to launch a collaborative project to call on extractive companies to make ‘no go’ commitments in World Heritage sites.
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Connected thinking
The EU High-Level Expert Group on Sustainable Finance
1 Jul 2020
In 2017 Aviva Investors’ Chief Responsible Investment Officer Steve Waygood was invited to become a member of the European Union High-Level Expert Group on Sustainable Finance (HLEG).
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Responsibility built in
A company-wide commitment
1 Jul 2020
A big part of integrating ESG into our investment decisions is making sure that it is embedded across the investment process. Two ways of doing this is our Responsible Investment Officer Network and the integration of ESG into the way investment team members are remunerated.
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Responsibility built in
ESG and alternative assets
1 Jul 2020
Responsible Investment and ESG have traditionally been biased towards liquid assets such as equities and bonds. There are several reasons for this, including the weight of assets under management, availability of information, and the rights and access provided to shareholders.
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Powering change
Superbugs – on the frontiers of sustainability
1 Jul 2020
The issues related to antimicrobial resistance and spread of drug-resistant 'superbugs' pose serious risks to public health and the business landscape. We have engaged with our investees to discuss their strategy on antibiotic resistance.
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Responsibility built-in
Find out how we integrate ESG into our investment processes as a firm and in every asset class.
Our latest views
Equities
Turn and face the change: How to invest dynamically in an uncertain world
21 Oct 2020
Equity markets are slow to price in the implications of change. This creates opportunities for dynamic, style-agnostic investors to take advantage, argue Caroline Galligan and David Cumming.
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Real Assets
Fit for the future: Unboxing ESG in real assets
5 Oct 2020
Recent events have highlighted the importance of the environmental, social and governance characteristics of real asset investments – not only as part of COVID-19 recovery programmes, but also as a way of futureproofing portfolios.
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Risk
The evolution of ESG: More than just a risk mitigator
21 Jul 2020
Once dismissed as a virtuous endeavour that compromised investment returns, the ability to gain a more holistic view of risk by considering environmental, social and governance factors is increasingly appreciated by investors. We assess the evolution of ESG across asset classes, as well as its role as a risk mitigator and opportunity spotter.
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Equities
Health first: Finding resilience in pharmaceuticals
2 Jul 2020
COVID-19 has led to a new appreciation of the importance of healthcare in ensuring all members of society thrive. So where should investors be looking to find resilience in an industry facing enormous change?
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Covid-19
COVID-19, comp and doing the right thing: Why corporate values have never been more critical
16 Jun 2020
With annual general meetings now taking place virtually, shareholders, employees and suppliers have had to adjust to lockdowns. While some of the immediate impacts will be phased out with the opening of the economy, stewardship priorities and corporate values may change forever.
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Covid-19
Evidence and ambition: The new rules of engagement on climate change
15 Jun 2020
Mirza Baig explains why far-off commitments on climate change by energy companies and their lenders are no longer enough, and why COVID-19 has catalysed rather than derailed investor engagement on the issue.
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Covid-19
Will COVID-19 prove a watershed for ESG?
14 May 2020
COVID-19 has thrown new light on the interdependencies in human and natural ecosystems, and the vulnerabilities of a closely networked world. Aviva Investors’ responsible investment specialists ask whether this will prove a turning point for environmental, social and governance issues.
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The AIQ Podcast
The AIQ Podcast: Climate emergency
6 May 2020
This latest episode of the AIQ Podcast goes back to basics on climate: we explore leading scientists’ understanding of how the world is changing, as well as the investment community’s response.
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The AIQ Podcast
The AIQ Podcast: The psychology of climate change
4 Mar 2020
This latest episode of the AIQ Podcast explores the psychology of climate change and how to engage individuals in the quest for solutions.
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Responsible Investing
Climate change: The journey from denial to crisis
28 Feb 2020
More than 40 years since a senior NASA scientist told US Congress of concerns about human activities disrupting the climate, experts are warning of an impending climate catastrophe and the financial sector is wrestling with the implications.
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Responsible Investing
Why asset managers cannot be passive on climate change
28 Feb 2020
As active investors step up their engagement efforts on the climate crisis, discussions need to be at the CEO rather than board level, argues David Cumming.
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Responsible Investing
Apathy, anger, action: The psychology of climate change
28 Feb 2020
Psychological barriers can prevent people from acting to avert the climate threat, even when they recognise the problem. So how can we best engage individuals, companies and communities in the quest for solutions?
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Responsible Investing
Stranded! When assets become liabilities
28 Feb 2020
Until recently, many investors made light of dire warnings of the risks posed by assets becoming “stranded” by climate change. However, as the threat becomes reality, fears are mounting that whole industries could be wiped out.
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Responsible Investing
‘Sticking’ it to carbon: The pros and cons of taxing emissions
28 Feb 2020
With governments urged to do more to tackle climate change, carbon taxes are being touted as a politically expedient solution.
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Responsible Investing
Slash and burn: The link between land use and climate change
28 Feb 2020
Poor land management contributes to rising global temperatures. But solutions are emerging as new technologies improve farming efficiency and consumers shift towards climate-friendly diets.
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Responsible Investing
Hot water: The threat of warming oceans
28 Feb 2020
As the challenges posed by climate change continue to loom large, due attention should be given to oceans, not just the solid ground under our feet and the air we breathe.
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Our team
Steve Waygood
Chief Responsible Investment Officer
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Abigail Herron
Global Head of ESG and Strategic Partnerships
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Mirza Baig
Global Head of Governance & Stewardship
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Paul LaCoursiere
Global Head of ESG Research
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Marte Borhaug
Global Head of ESG Investment Solutions
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Doris Ko
ESG Operations Manager
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Rebecca Vine
Senior Corporate Governance Analyst
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Eugenie Mathieu
Senior SRI Analyst
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Rick Stathers
Senior GRI Analyst, Climate Specialist
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Richard Butters
SRI Analyst
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Sora Utzinger
SRI Analyst
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Louise Piffaut
ESG Analyst
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Investment risk
The value of an investment and any income from it can go down as well as up. Investors may not get back the orginal amount invested.