| Organisational Overview | ||||||
| Organisational Overview This section captures information that helps determine if some of the subsequent questions are required and also plays a role in benchmarking. Please make sure you provide accurate answers. This is also one of the more challenging sections as it may require gathering information from multiple sources. We suggest you collect all this information before progressing to other parts of the questionnaire. | ||||||
| 1. What were your organisation's total assets under management as of the most recent count (in millions)? (Estimating to the nearest hundred million as of December 31 2008 would be preferable - although the most recent available count would be sufficient. If your currency is not listed, please select 'other' and indicate your currency or convert to United States dollars.) | 42692 | |||||
| Please select currency | South Korean won (KRW) | |||||
| 1a. If 'other' was selected, please specify the other currency here | No Answer | |||||
2. Please pick the one category and level of complexity that best describes your organisation (if your organisation is a pension fund, please also select your pension type). This information may be used to provide you with the best possible benchmarking. Complexity
| ||||||
| Hedge fund manager | Simple | |||||
| 2a. If 'other' was selected, please specify the other category here | No answer | |||||
| 3. Please provide an approximation of your average asset mix for 2008 or your asset mix as of the most recent count (in percent):(+/- 5% is sufficient. The sum of all the fields must be 100%) | ||||||
Active | Passive | Active | Passive | |||
| Listed equity (developed markets) | 0 | 63 | 0 | 27 | ||
| Listed equity (emerging markets) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Fixed income (not including corporate issuers) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Fixed income (corporate issuers) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Private equity | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Listed real estate or property | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Non-listed real estate or property | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Hedge funds | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Commodities | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Infrastructure | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Cash | 0 | 7 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Governance, Policy and Strategy | ||||||
| Governance, Policy and StrategyQuestions 5 through 15 are about the governance and oversight of your organisation's responsible investment activities and the associated policies and strategy. This section will be scored separately from the six Principles."Policy" in this section may refer to one overall RI policy or multiple policies that address various elements of RI. | ||||||
| 5. Do you have a policy that makes specific reference to responsible investment (RI) or environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues? | Yes | |||||
| 6. If you have a policy that makes specific reference to RI/ESG issues, which of the following Principles does it address?(Please check all that apply.) | Principle 1: We will incorporate ESG issues into investment analysis and decision-making processes.,Principle 2: We will be active owners and incorporate ESG issues into our ownership policies and practices.,Principle 3: We will seek appropriate disclosure on ESG issues by the entities in which we invest.,Principle 4: We will promote acceptance and implementation of the Principles within the investment industry.,Principle 5: We will work together to enhance our effectiveness in implementing the Principles.,Principle 6: We will each report on our activities and progress towards implementing the Principles. | |||||
| 7. If you have a policy that makes specific reference to RI/ESG issues, which of the following asset classes does it apply to?(Please check all that apply.) | Listed equity (developed markets) | |||||
| 8. If you have a policy that makes specific reference to RI/ESG issues, when was your policy last reviewed? | Within the last 3 years, and planning to in 2009 | |||||
| 9. If you have a policy that makes specific reference to RI/ESG issues, has it been disclosed publicly?(If answering yes, please indicate how this statement can be obtained - a URL would be sufficient. If answering no, please explain why not.) | Yes: 'www.arkinvest.co.kr' | |||||
10. To what extent has your approach to responsible investment been translated into a plan of action as reflected in business planning, strategic planning, or similar internal management processes?
| To a moderate extent | |||||
| 11. Who within your organisation has responsibilities related to RI implementation?(Please check all that apply.) | Chief Executive Officer or Chief Investment Officer or equivalent | |||||
| 12. Do you have a policy or approach/process that requires screening out or excluding stocks or sectors from your investment universe? | Stocks | |||||
| 13. What are your reasons for screening out or excluding stocks or sectors from your investment universe?(Please check all that apply.) | We believe that it is possible to exclude companies/sectors which will prove to be long term chronic underperformers in terms of their ability to maintain and grow earnings i.e. our exclusion is based on a high level integration | |||||
| 14. Please describe how your organisation assesses if there is a link between your RI activities and the performance (risk and return) of your investments: | We try to integrate RI activities to Value Investing (VI), our main investment principle. So far, it has helped well to enhance our investment return. We believe VI and RI mix well. | |||||
| 15. Please add any overall comments and clarifications related to Governance, Policy, and Strategy here. | Our main investment principle is Value Investing. Among ESG issues for RI, we recently focus less on Environment and more on engagement for Corp Governance, since PER's for environmental stocks are nowadays too high (bubbled). | |||||
| Principle 1 | ||||||
Principle 1: We will incorporate ESG issues into investment analysis and decision-making processes.For the purposes of this questionnaire, integration is the consideration of ESG issues alongside traditional financial measures, based on the belief that ESG issues can affect the performance (risk and/or return) of investment portfolios (to varying degrees across companies, sectors, regions, asset classes and through time). Please note that the view that ESG issues can influence investment returns may be based either on
| ||||||
| 16. Please provide a one to two paragraph description of your approach to this Principle.This question and similar questions relating to each of the other Principles are being asked for three reasons. The first reason is to gather details regarding signatory implementation for inclusion in the PRI annual report on progress. The second reason is to capture activities not captured directly by questions in the Reporting and Assessment Tool. The third reason is to provide context and details to support verification calls. | To Value Investing, our main investment principle, we try to integrate ESG issues, especially Environment and Governance. We see Technology on Environment and Corporate Governance are good opportunities for investment in association with Value Investing. Nowadays when Enviromment stocks are bubbled in their market prices, we are more interested in engagement for better Governance of some companies selected on Value Investing principle. | |||||
| Integration of ESG issues into investment analysis and decision-making processes of internally managed assets | ||||||
| 17. For what percentage of your internal assets under active management do you integrate RI/ESG issues into your internal investment decision-making processes (in percent)?(+/- 5% is sufficient.) | ||||||
| Listed equity (developed markets) | ||||||
| Listed equity (emerging markets) | ||||||
| Fixed income (not including corporate issuers) | ||||||
| Fixed income (corporate issuers) | ||||||
| Private equity | ||||||
| Listed real estate or property | ||||||
| Non-listed real estate or property | ||||||
| Hedge funds | ||||||
| Infrastructure | ||||||
18. To what extent have you integrated RI/ESG issues into your internal active investment decision-making processes?(Applies only to investments that include integration of RI/ESG issues as indicated in Q17.)
| ||||||
| Listed equity (developed markets) | No Answer | |||||
| Listed equity (emerging markets) | No Answer | |||||
| Fixed income (not including corporate issuers) | No Answer | |||||
| Fixed income (corporate issuers) | No Answer | |||||
| Private equity | No Answer | |||||
| Listed real estate or property | No Answer | |||||
| Non-listed real estate or property | No Answer | |||||
| Hedge funds | No Answer | |||||
| Infrastructure | No Answer | |||||
19. When forming investment views, to what extent does your organisation gather and analyse ESG information, including, where applicable, information obtained from engagement activities?(Applies only to investments that include integration of RI/ESG issues as indicated in Q17.)
| No Answer | |||||
20. To what extent do portfolio managers or others making investment decisions in your organisation apply the ESG information and analysis available to them when constructing and managing portfolios?(Applies only to investments that include integration of RI/ESG issues as indicated in Q17.)
| No Answer | |||||
21. To what extent do you have a process for improving the effectiveness of research and portfolio management processes with regards to ESG factors?(Applies only to investments that include integration of RI/ESG issues as indicated in Q17.)
| No Answer | |||||
22. To what extent do you have a process for assessing and improving internal investment staff competency to incorporate RI/ESG issues into investment analysis and decision-making processes?(Applies only to investments that include integration of RI/ESG issues as indicated in Q17.)
| No Answer | |||||
| Integration of ESG issues into investment analysis and decision-making processes of externally managed assets | ||||||
| 23. This question is not applicable to you due to your response to Q3 regarding the use of active external investment management. For what percentage of your external assets under management are RI/ESG issues integrated into the investment decision-making processes of your external investment managers (in percent, +/- 5% is sufficient)? | ||||||
| Listed equity (developed markets) | ||||||
| Listed equity (emerging markets) | ||||||
| Fixed income (not including corporate issuers) | ||||||
| Fixed income (corporate issuers) | ||||||
| Private equity | ||||||
| Listed real estate or property | ||||||
| Non-listed real estate or property | ||||||
| Hedge funds | ||||||
| Infrastructure | ||||||
24. This question is not applicable to you due to your response to Q3 regarding the use of active external investment management. To what extent have RI/ESG issues been integrated into the investment decision-making processes of your external investment managers?(Applies only to investments that include integration of RI/ESG issues as indicated in Q23.)
| ||||||
| Listed equity (developed markets) | No Answer | |||||
| Listed equity (emerging markets) | No Answer | |||||
| Fixed income (not including corporate issuers) | No Answer | |||||
| Fixed income (corporate issuers) | No Answer | |||||
| Private equity | No Answer | |||||
| Listed real estate or property | No Answer | |||||
| Non-listed real estate or property | No Answer | |||||
| Hedge funds | No Answer | |||||
| Infrastructure | No Answer | |||||
25. This question is not applicable to you due to your response to Q3 regarding the use of active external investment management. To what extent do you consider the capabilities of external investment managers to incorporate RI/ESG issues when searching for, selecting and retaining your external investment managers?(Applies only to investments that include integration of RI/ESG issues as indicated in Q23.)
| No Answer | |||||
| Integration - final comments | ||||||
| 26. Please add any overall comments and clarifications related to Principle 1 here. Please also describe any significant activities relating to Principle 1 that have not been captured by the questions above. | We believe that engagement for better Corporate Governance of some companies selected on Value Investing principle helps to better return on our inestment. | |||||
| Principle 2 | ||||||
| Principle 2: We will be active owners and incorporate ESG issues into our ownership policies and practices. | ||||||
| 27. Please provide a one to two paragraph description of your approach to this Principle. | As an example of our engagement activities for better Governance, last week at General Shareholders Meeting of a company, of which we (Ark Private Fund) own 18% share, we were successful in having our own candiates elected in positions of independent auditor and director. | |||||
| (Proxy) voting - applies only to listed equity (developed markets), listed equity (emerging markets) and listed real estate or property. | ||||||
| 28. Do you have a (proxy) voting policy?(If 'Yes - disclosed publicly', please indicate how your (proxy) voting policy can be obtained- a URL would be sufficient. If answering no, please explain why not.) | Yes - disclosed publicly: 'We contact shareholders directly in each case.' | |||||
| 29. Does your (proxy) voting policy address environmental, social, and governance issues? | ||||||
| Environmental | No Answer | |||||
| Social | No Answer | |||||
| Governance | Yes | |||||
| 30. Who decided how to vote on ballot items on behalf of your organisation in 2008?(Please check all that apply.) | Internal investment manager | |||||
31. To what extent is information related to ballot items gathered and analysed before voting decisions are made?
| To a large extent | |||||
| 32. Do you ensure that voting is done in accordance with your voting instructions? | Yes for all | |||||
| 33. Do you inform companies of your rationale when you abstain or vote against management recommendations? | Yes for all | |||||
| 34. Please indicate how many resolutions you could have voted on and how many resolutions you did vote on in 2008:(include abstentions as votes where votes against are not possible, use the last available one year period if information for 2008 is not available or too difficult to gather, approximate numbers are acceptable. If you are unable to provide the exact number please provide an approximation of the percentage by entering 10 in the 'Resolutions could have voted on' column and your estimate in the 'Resolutions voted on' column. So if you voted on about 70% of the possible resolutions you would enter 7 in the 'Resolutions voted on' column. If you are not sure, please enter a 1 in all four fields.) | ||||||
| Domestic | 10 | 2 | ||||
| Foreign | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 35. For the listed equities that you manage, do you provide (proxy) voting services for your clients if they request them? | Yes - According to our own policy | |||||
| 36. How does your securities lending program address voting? | We recall some securities for voting on some ballot items on an ad hoc basis | |||||
| 37. How many shareholder resolutions related to ESG issues did you file or co-file during 2008? | ||||||
| As lead filer | 5 | |||||
| As co-filer | ||||||
| Planning to be lead filer in 2009 | ||||||
| Planning to be co-filer in 2009 | ||||||
| 38. Please explain why you did or did not file or co-file any shareholder resolutions related to RI/ESG issues during 2008: | To enhance the shareholder value ie stock prices in long term. | |||||
| Engagement - general | ||||||
| 39. Who engaged with companies to seek ESG improvements in 2008?Please rank who engaged with companies according to their importance within your overall active ownership activities. You can only select Most, Second, Third and Fourth most important once each. Only the method you rank as 'Most important' will be scored for benchmarking purposes. If you wish to request that your other methods of engagement also be scored, please complete all the relevant sections and email the PRI at assessment@unpri.org when you submit your response. | ||||||
| Internal staff | Most important | |||||
| External investment manager(s) | Did not engage with companies in 2008 | |||||
| External engagement service provider(s) | Second most important | |||||
| No Answer | |||||
| 40. Do you have a written engagement policy or other documents that direct engagement?(If 'Yes - disclosed publicly', please indicate how your policy can be obtained- a URL would be sufficient.) | No | |||||
| 41. If you have an engagement policy or other documents that direct engagement, what do they include?(Please check all that apply.) | No Answer | |||||
| 42. How many companies are you invested in? | 25 | |||||
| Engagement - internal staff | ||||||
43. To what extent do you have a process for identifying and prioritising ESG related engagement opportunities?
| To a small extent | |||||
44. How many portfolio companies did you engage with on ESG issues in 2008?
| ||||||
| Extensive engagement | 2 | |||||
| Moderate engagement | 0 | |||||
| Basic engagement | 0 | |||||
| 45. What proportion of your engagements addressed environmental, social or governance issues (in percent)?(One engagement may address more than one issue, so the three percentages need not add to 100%. For example, if you only had one engagement and it addressed environmental and governance issues then the answer would be 100% for environmental and 100% for governance.) | ||||||
| Environmental | 0 | |||||
| Social | 0 | |||||
| Governance | 100 | |||||
46. To what extent do you set ESG engagement objectives and attempt to evaluate your engagement success?
| To a large extent | |||||
| 47. What percentage of engagements that ended in 2008 were deemed successful (in percent)?(Engagement success: a considerable part of objectives or milestones that were set when the engagement commenced were achieved.) | 100 | |||||
48. To what extent do you have a process for assessing and improving staff competency to act as active owners and incorporate ESG issues into ownership practices?
| To a small extent | |||||
| Engagement - external engagement service provider(s) | ||||||
49. How many portfolio companies did your external engagement service provider(s) engage with on ESG issues on your behalf in 2008?
| ||||||
| Extensive engagement | 1 | |||||
| Moderate engagement | 0 | |||||
| Basic engagement | 0 | |||||
| 50. What proportion of your external engagement service provider(s)'s engagements on your behalf addressed environmental, social or governance issues (in percent)?(One engagement may address more than one issue, so the three percentages need not add to 100%. For example, if you only had one engagement and it addressed environmental and governance issues then the answer would be 100% for environmental and 100% for governance.) | ||||||
| Environmental | 0 | |||||
| Social | 0 | |||||
| Governance | 100 | |||||
51. To what extent do you contribute to and assess the ESG engagement activities of your external engagement service provider(s)?
| To a large extent | |||||
| Engagement - external investment manager(s) | ||||||
52. This question is not applicable to you due to your response to Q39 regarding who engages with companies. How many portfolio companies did your external investment manager(s)'s engage with on ESG issues on your behalf in 2008?
| ||||||
| Extensive engagement | ||||||
| Moderate engagement | ||||||
| Basic engagement | ||||||
| 53. This question is not applicable to you due to your response to Q39 regarding who engages with companies. What proportion of your external investment manager(s)'s engagements on your behalf addressed environmental, social or governance issues (in percent)? (One engagement may address more than one issue, so the three percentages need not add to 100%. For example, if you only had one engagement and it addressed environmental and governance issues then the answer would be 100% for environmental and 100% for governance.) | ||||||
| Environmental | ||||||
| Social | ||||||
| Governance | ||||||
54. This question is not applicable to you due to your response to Q39 regarding who engages with companies. To what extent do you contribute to and assess the ESG engagement activities of your external investment manager(s)?
| No Answer | |||||
| 55. This question is not applicable to you due to your response to Q39 regarding who engages with companies. Did you consider the capabilities of external investment managers to engage with companies on ESG issues on your behalf when searching for, selecting and retaining your investment managers? | No Answer | |||||
| Engagement - final comments | ||||||
| 56. What ESG issues were addressed in your or your service providers'engagement initiatives? (Please check all that apply.) | Bribery/corruption,Governance,Other (please specify): 'Dividend' | |||||
| 57. What measures do you or your external service provider(s) use to assess the impact and success of engagement? | 1. Sucess rate of the resolutions 2. Acceptance rate of our recommendations | |||||
| 58. Please add any overall comments and clarifications related to Principle 2 here. Please also describe any significant activities relating to Principle 2 that have not been captured by the questions above. | In 2009, without direct engagement, we may be further intereted in investing opportunities of large business groups'corporate restructuring like spin-off and set-up of holding company for their governance improvement. | |||||
| Principle 3 | ||||||
| Principle 3: We will seek appropriate disclosure on ESG issues by the entities in which we invest. | ||||||
| 59. Please provide a one to two paragraph description of your approach to this Principle. | We are serious on disclosure of transparent accounting practices, but soft and casual on other environmental and social issues. | |||||
| 60. Who asked investee companies (or other investment entities) to provide information about their ESG policies, practices or performance in 2008?(Please check all that apply.) | Internal staff | |||||
61. To what extent did you or your external engagement service provider(s) or your external investment manager(s) have a dialogue with investee companies (or other investment entities) regarding the production of standardized reporting about their ESG policies, practices or performance in 2008?('Standardized' could also include systematic reporting in areas where standardized reporting has not yet emerged.)
| ||||||
| Listed equity (developed market) | Not at all | |||||
| 62. What formats of reporting on ESG issue policies, practices or performance have been requested? Please check all that apply. | Other (please specify): 'Mainly regular annal and quarterly finacial reports' | |||||
63. To what extent did you or your external engagement service provider(s) or your external investment manager(s) seek information from companies regarding their practices related to norms, standards, codes of conduct or international initiatives related to ESG issues in 2008?
| To a small extent | |||||
| 64. Please add any overall comments and clarifications related to Principle 3 here. Please also describe any significant activities relating to Principle 3 that have not been captured by the questions above. | We invest in Korean stocks of small/medium sized compaies listed on exchange: Very limited number of large companies produce ESG reports. Small/medium sized companies do not. | |||||
| Principle 4 | ||||||
| Principle 4: We will promote acceptance and implementation of the Principles within the investment industry. | ||||||
| 65. Please provide a one to two paragraph description of your approach to this Principle. | We are an active member and financial supporter of KOSIF, which promotes SRI in Korean investment industry. We encourage our collegue investment managers to be interested in RI(SRI) and the Principles. We participated in translation and publication of a SRI book (Korean version), "Socially Responsible Investment: A Gobal Revolution" by Russel Sparkes. | |||||
| 66. Did you consider RI/ESG requirements when searching for and selecting service providers in 2008 when applicable? | ||||||
| Investment consultant | Not applicable | |||||
| Proxy voting service provider | Not applicable | |||||
| External overlay service provider | Not applicable | |||||
| Investment research provider | No | |||||
| 67. Have you included RI/ESG elements in the following? | ||||||
| Investment monitoring | Yes, some of the time | |||||
| Incentive structure (internally managed) | No | |||||
| Incentive structure (externally managed) | Not applicable | |||||
| Contractual relationships with external investment managers | Not applicable | |||||
| Contractual relationships with other investment related service providers | No | |||||
68. To what extent did you encourage your eligible service providers to become PRI signatories or consider RI/ESG factors in 2008?(Service providers include but are not limited to: external investment managers, investment consultants, proxy voting service providers, external engagement service providers, and investment research providers.)
| Not at all | |||||
69. To what extent did you encourage your institutional clients to become PRI signatories or consider RI/ESG factors in 2008?
| Not at all | |||||
70. To what extent did you encourage peer organisations to become PRI signatories or consider RI/ESG factors in 2008?
| To a large extent | |||||
| 71. Have you revisited any relationships with service providers in light of RI/ESG issue-related capabilities? | No | |||||
| 72. Does your broker evaluation process (which determines how you allocate commissions to brokers) include an ESG component and/or do you have a budget to pay for ESG broker research? | No | |||||
| 73A. What is your total investment research budget (including brokerage commissions intended to recognize research, in the same currency used in Q1) | 280 | |||||
| 73B. what proportion of your total investment research budget is allocated to ESG research (in percent)? | 0 | |||||
74. To what extent do you identify ESG issues and suggest them to brokers or other investment research providers for research?
| Not at all | |||||
75. To what extent did you engage in dialogue, lobbying or initiatives pertaining to government policy and/or industry regulations (for example, stock exchanges or accounting standards) related to RI/ESG issues in 2008?
| To a moderate extent | |||||
| 76. Please add any overall comments and clarifications related to Principle 4 here. Please also describe any significant activities relating to Principle 4 that have not been captured by the questions above. | ARK Investment Advisors Inc is an invesment manager of ARK Private Fund. ARK financially supports college educations on Social Enterprise Program including CSR, SRI(RI), Social Entrepreneurship and Strategic Philanthropy. Korea is still in an infant stage for RI(SRI). | |||||
| Principle 5 | ||||||
| Principle 5: We will work together to enhance our effectiveness in implementing the Principles. | ||||||
| 77. Please provide a one to two paragraph description of your approach to this Principle. | ARK is an active member and supporter of KOSIF. In 2009, we will make some efforts to help organize Korean PRI signatories and their regular meetings for exchange and sharing of ideas and experiences in implementing the Principles. | |||||
78. To what extent did you collaborate with other investors to improve your effectiveness in implementing each of the following Principles?
| ||||||
| Principle 1 | To a moderate extent | |||||
| Principle 2 | To a moderate extent | |||||
| Principle 3 | To a moderate extent | |||||
| Principle 4 | To a moderate extent | |||||
| 79. How did you use the PRI Engagement Clearinghouse in 2008?(Please check all that apply.) | Did not log in in 2008 | |||||
| 80. Did you participate in any of the following RI/ESG issue-related collaborations and/or associations? For those not listed, please use the "other" field:(Please check all that apply.) | Regional social investment organisation (for example SIF or UKSIF),United Nations Environmental Program Finance Initiative (UNEP FI),Other (please specify): 'UN PRI' | |||||
81. Please indicate the three RI/ESG issue-related collaborative engagement initiatives and/or industry associations that you participated in most extensively and indicate how you did so:
| ||||||
| PRI | To a small extent | Encouraged by a SRI research firm, we signed PRI in June 2007, Seoul. | ||||
| Regional social investment organisation (for example SIF or UKSIF) | To a large extent | ARK was one of founding members of KOSIF in March 2007. We actively participates in their activities. | ||||
| United Nations Environmental Program Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) | To a small extent | We participated passively in their meeting(s). | ||||
| 82. Please add any overall comments and clarifications related to Principle 5 here. Please also describe any significant activities relating to Principle 5 that have not been captured by the questions above. | Please refer to Question 77 and answer. | |||||
| Principle 6 | ||||||
| Principle 6: We will each report on our activities and progress towards implementing the Principles. | ||||||
| 83. Please provide a one to two paragraph description of your approach to this Principle. | At the moment, we think we are reporting to PRI head office. We believe that Korean signatories should be organized as a Korean unit for better comminications with PRI head office. We suppose they, including us, do not know how to comunicate easily with the head office. This questionnaire looks too lengthy, taking too much time. | |||||
84. To what extent did you disclose (privately and/or publicly) your approach to incorporating ESG issues into investment analysis and decision-making processes in 2008?(If you disclose publicly, please indicate how this disclosure can be obtained - a URL would be sufficient. If answering not at all, please explain why not.)
| To a moderate extent: 'www.arkinvest.co.kr' | |||||
| 85. How did you disclose your (proxy) voting record in 2008?(Please select all that apply. If you disclose publicly, please indicate how this disclosure can be obtained - a URL would be sufficient. If answering not at all, please explain why not.) | Disclosed publicly: 'www.arkinvest.co.kr (Please refer to "Press Release"' | |||||
86. To what extent did you disclose (privately and/or publicly) your RI/ESG issue-related engagement activities, results and progress in 2008?(If you disclose publicly, please indicate how this disclosure can be obtained - a URL would be sufficient. If answering not at all, please explain why not.)
| To a small extent: 'www.arkinvest.co.kr' | |||||
| 87. Did you disclose (privately and/or publicly) RI/ESG activities, results and progress related to Principle 3, Principle 4 or Principle 5 in 2008?(If you disclose publicly, please indicate how this disclosure can be obtained - a URL would be sufficient. If answering not at all, please explain why not.) | ||||||
| Principle 3 | Yes - to clients or beneficiaries and the public | www.arkinvest.co.kr | ||||
| Principle 4 | Planning to in 2009 | Will do privately | ||||
| Principle 5 | Planning to in 2009 | Will do privately | ||||
| 88. How would you like to publish your responses to this PRI Reporting and Assessment tool?(Please check all that apply.) | Please automatically publish our responses to the reporting and assessment tool in full on the PRI website | |||||
| 89. Please add any overall comments and clarifications related to Principle 6 here. Please also describe any significant activities relating to Principle 6 that have not been captured by the questions above. | Please refer to Question 83 and answer. | |||||
| Closing Comments | ||||||
| 90. Please describe the benefits you have enjoyed as a result of signing the PRI: | Not much yet. But when Korean colleague signatories are organized and active in collaborations, we will see some benefits. | |||||
| 91. What has your organisation changed as a direct result of becoming a PRI signatory? | Not much. Five years ago, before signing PRI, we have already announced internally and to our clients our plan for gradual integration of SRI(RI) to existing Value Investing priciple. | |||||
| 92. Did the financial market turmoil of 2008 cause you to change your approach to the consideration of ESG factors or active ownership? If it did, please explain how. | No | |||||
| 93. What are the top three activities the PRI Secretariat could undertake to enhance and encourage further implementation of the PRI by current and prospective signatories? | ||||||
| 1. | Please encourage Korean PRI signatories to organize themselves and create Korean (local) PRI Secretariat (Not-for-Profit). | |||||
| 2. | (Do not know) | |||||
| 3. | (Do not know) | |||||
| 94. What are your top three PRI-related goals/priorities for 2009? | ||||||
| 1. | Search further for investing opportunities for Corporate Governance improvement. | |||||
| 2. | Help organize Korean PRI signatories (to create Korean PRI Secretariat) for better collaboration and communication with PRI head office(Secretariat) | |||||
| 3. | Internal self education of investment managers at ARK on SRI(RI) for better integration of SRI(RI) to Value Investing | |||||
| 95. What were your most significant achievements in 2008 in relation to your implementation of Principles? | ||||||
| Principle 1: We will incorporate ESG issues into investment analysis and decision-making processes. | Our integration efforts of SRI(RI) especially on Governance issue to our Value Investing principle helped to improve our investment performace ie return. | |||||
| Principle 2: We will be active owners and incorporate ESG issues into our ownership policies and practices. | It took long time to convince our investment managers about effectiveness of SRI(RI). Nowadays they are positive to SRI(RI). | |||||
| Principle 3: We will seek appropriate disclosure on ESG issues by the entities in which we invest. | Our engagement activities for better Governance recently with two companies were very successful. One friendly, the other unfriendly. | |||||
| Principle 4: We will promote acceptance and implementation of the Principles within the investment industry. | We continue to actively participate in KOSIF and PRI meetings/activities. ARK took a leadership to prepare for creation of the first Christian SRI fund in Korea. | |||||
| Principle 5: We will work together to enhance our effectiveness in implementing the Principles. | At last meeting of Korean PRI signatories meeting, we took a leadership to organize their coolaboration activities. At next meeting in May or June, we will make a presentation of our Engagement success story. | |||||
| Principle 6: We will each report on our activities and progress towards implementing the Principles. | At the moment, we are reporting to PRI Secretariat for the first time. When Korean (local) PRI Secretariat is created, reporting will be easier and more efficient. | |||||
| 96. What were your biggest barriers in 2008 with relation to your implementation of the Principles? | ||||||
| Principle 1: We will incorporate ESG issues into investment analysis and decision-making processes. | Environment stocks are bubbled. Social issues are not easy to handle, compared to Governance issue. SRI(RI) is still in infant stage in Korea. | |||||
| Principle 2: We will be active owners and incorporate ESG issues into our ownership policies and practices. | Our fund managers are seriously interested in Environment and Governance issues, but not in Social issues. | |||||
| Principle 3: We will seek appropriate disclosure on ESG issues by the entities in which we invest. | Only limited number of large companies listed publish ESG report. All of small/medium sized companies do not. Asian culture is not favorable for the disclosure. | |||||
| Principle 4: We will promote acceptance and implementation of the Principles within the investment industry. | Investment managers, in general, have a wrong perception that practice of SRI(RI) principles will sacrifice their investment performace. Mutual fund managers, in general, are not (can not be) long term in their investment horizon. | |||||
| Principle 5: We will work together to enhance our effectiveness in implementing the Principles. | Korean (local)PRI signatories are not organized well yet for coolaboration. KOSIF is active in promoting SRI(RI), but lacks in understanding of professional investment management. | |||||
| Principle 6: We will each report on our activities and progress towards implementing the Principles. | This reporting is too lengthy, taking too much time. Non-existence of local PRI Secretariat makes reporting process not easy. Korea and Japan are two Asian countries, where English is least spoken, written and understood. | |||||
| 97. Please indicate which principle you find the most difficult to implement and the principle you find the least difficult to implement: | ||||||
| Most difficult | Principle 6 | |||||
| Least difficult | Principle 1 | |||||