At Montrusco Bolton, we prioritize companies, across all industries, that uphold robust governance practices and effectively manage environmental and social issues tied to their operations. We believe these practices not only sustain competitiveness but also drive long-term value for investors and society. This conviction guides our thorough assessment of potential portfolio candidates, ensuring we grasp both the internal dynamics and external factors influencing their performance.
Our responsible investment philosophy centers on evaluating corporate governance practices and the management of environmental and social factors related to their business activities.
Our approach helps us identify material financial risks for the companies we invest in. We have been a signatory of the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) since 2011, which is an investor initiative in partnership with UNEP Finance Initiative and the UN Global Compact. Our firm’s most recent Transparency Report can be found here.
Good corporate governance starts within our firm.
We believe it is important to have strong corporate policies in place to guide us. As such, the following policies are available and updated regularly:
- Responsible Investment Policy
- Engagement Policy
- Proxy Voting Policy
- Code of Ethics
- Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Policy
Our Responsible Investment Committee was created in 2018 and meets on a regular basis to discuss the firm’s Responsible Investment strategy and initiatives, and to ensure that these are aligned with client expectations and industry standards.
For our internally managed investment strategies*, we integrate environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations into our investment process, from idea generation, to fundamental analysis and investment decision.
Our responsible investment journey started in 2004 with the publication of our proxy voting policy, shareholder activism and the implementation of exclusions.
ESG integration at Monstrusco Bolton today focuses on risk mitigation, through comprehensive ESG screening and ongoing monitoring, and active ownership. We actively engage with companies and use our voting power to encourage the adoption of stronger ESG practices.
Independent Proxy Voting Approach
Our objective in proxy voting is to support proposals and director nominees that, in our view, maximize the value of our clients’ investments over the long term. While our goal is simple, the proposals we receive are varied and frequently complex.
As such, the Proxy Voting Policy we adopted provides a framework for assessing each proposal based on the principal of promoting sound corporate governance in a manner that is proactive, constructive and aligned with shareholder rights. Our service provider applies our voting guidelines to the voting ballots and shareholder proposals are voted independently by our teams. Here are our voting statistics for the most recent calendar year.
We take an active role towards the companies we invest in.
We believe that an active ownership approach is beneficial for both the companies we invest in and our clients’ investment portfolios. Our investment teams work in close collaboration with the management teams of the companies we invest in to identify potential areas of risk in terms of ESG issues with the objective of reducing the non-financial risks to which investment strategies are exposed.
We are dedicated to promoting Diversity & Inclusion within our teams.
In September 2020, we signed the Canadian Investor Statement on Diversity & Inclusion, an initiative of the Responsible Investment Association (RIA). Signatories of the statement acknowledge the existence of systemic racism and acknowledge the existence of inequities and discrimination based on factors including, but not limited to, race, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, culture and socio-economic status. We also signed the CFA Institute Diversity, Equity and Inclusion code.
Responsible Investment
We integrate environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations into our investment process and actively engage with companies we invest in.
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