Sustainable investing – always looking ahead
Our commitment to sustainability hasn’t changed, but we have changed the way we think about it as the possibilities expand. Given the diversity of investors’ objectives and requirements, our sustainable investing products are built on a broad range of approaches, adaptable to different levels of ESG incorporation and client preferences. Our capabilities seek to enhance our clients’ investment decisions while helping create benefits for wider society. All part of our commitment to being a sustainability shaper.
20+
years of sustainable investing
298 billion
in ESG risk-focused, sustainability-focused and impact-focused product categories*
PRI 4-star
grade for Policy, Governance & Strategy**
45+
dedicated global sustainability-focused professionals†
95,500+
single proposals† at shareholder meetings
481
engagements with companies, covering over 1,000 topics†
*AUM as at 30 September 2024. ESG risk-focused is not considered sustainable according to the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulations. Note that “sustainability-focused” and “impact-focused” are Allianz GIobal Investors product categories. Reference to a fund being within them does not indicate that fund has a “Sustainability Focus” or “Sustainability Impact” label under the United Kingdom’s Sustainability Disclosure Requirements (SDR).
**Maximum possible rating is 5 stars
† As at 30 September 2024
Find out how our capabilities evolved to support the breadth of investor needs.
Our journey
Three sustainability themes
We identified three themes that we believe are critical to society, our investors and Allianz Global Investors as a business.
Our research and engagement activity is built around the most material risks and opportunities of these three themes – for our business, the businesses in which we invest, and our wider stakeholders.
Climate change
Climate change is one of our planet’s most pressing challenges, with potential consequences across all three environmental, social and governance (ESG) elements.
Planetary boundaries
It is important to define the environmental limits within which humanity can safely operate (including the impact on biodiversity) and avoid any unintended consequences of the fight against climate change.
Inclusive capitalism
We think inclusion will become the next big wave after climate change and requires innovative thinking and solutions that meet the demands of younger generations.
Product categories
Our clients’ sustainability objectives vary – that’s why we offer investment solutions with differing levels of sustainability incorporation, according to clients’ ultimate ambitions. Our Sustainability-focused and Impact-focused products require, as a minimum, application of our Sustainable Minimum Exclusion policy and one of our qualifying approaches.
For illustrative purposes only. Exclusions apply to direct investments. Sustainable or impact investing private markets strategies apply the Allianz ESG Integration Framework exclusions. Allianz Global Investors supports the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
*According to EU SFDR regulation
ESG: Environmental, Social and Governance. SRI: Sustainable and Responsible Investing. KPI: Key Performance Indicator.
#AUM in Sustainability-focused and impact-focused strategies combined: EUR 209 bn. Note that “sustainability-focused” and “impact-focused” are Allianz GIobal Investors product categories. Reference to a fund being within them does not indicate that fund has a “Sustainability Focus” or “Sustainability Impact” label under the United Kingdom’s Sustainability Disclosure Requirements (SDR).
†ESG risk-focused category (also known as the integrated ESG investment approach) is not considered sustainable according to EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation.
Active stewardship
Our goal is to shape pathways towards real-world transition, and our responsibilities as the active steward of our clients’ assets is key to this ambition.
2023 highlights
We use two primary levers to motivate sustainable outcomes at investee companies:
Proxy voting enables us to vote during shareholder meetings on behalf of our investors. This allows us to have a say on important issues affecting companies in which we invest. Our voting decisions are informed by in-depth research and analysis and discussions with investee companies.
We have started making pre-AGM voting announcements on high-priority topics to ensure our intentions are transparent and to aim to persuade other investors to adopt a similar approach.
As part of our commitment to full transparency of our proxy voting activities, we publish the following:
- Detailed Global Corporate Governance Guidelines
- Engagement Policy Statement
- Real-time disclosure of all votes cast including commentary explaining votes against management and abstentions
Our engagement activities with investee companies help us to understand – and mitigate – the real risks of our holdings. In recent years, we have increased the number of our engagement activities in line with our priority themes – climate change, planetary boundaries and inclusive capitalism.
The number of engagement topics is also up – from corporate governance and business strategy topics to environmental and social impacts.
Engagement across asset classes While the bedrock of our engagement activities comes from our heritage as an active equity manager, we are expanding our engagement activity across fixed income and labelled debt and facilitating dedicated dialogues for our corporate credit strategies. We have also stepped up engagement activities dedicated to our investments in Asia.
Sometimes the most effective way to increase our impact and achieve engagement objectives for our clients is to engage collaboratively with other investors – particularly in cases where we have major concerns but only a limited investment in a company.
Examples of the investor groups we work alongside include Climate Action 100+, Ceres Food Emissions 50, the 30% Club France Investor Group and the PRI Advance Coalition on Human Rights. Topics for collaborative engagement have included climate change, gender diversity and human rights. We are also proud to have co-founded the 30% Club Germany Investor Group.
We provide extensive details of our stewardship activities and outcomes in our annual Sustainability and Stewardship Report.
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