| 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.) | 11600 | |||||
| Please select currency | South African rand (ZAR) | |||||
| 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
| ||||||
| Mainstream investment 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 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Listed equity (emerging markets) | 93 | 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 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 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 (emerging markets),Cash (not included in scoring) | |||||
| 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.fraters.co.za' | |||||
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 large extent | |||||
| 11. Who within your organisation has responsibilities related to RI implementation?(Please check all that apply.) | Board of trustees or board of directors,Chief Executive Officer or Chief Investment Officer or equivalent,Other senior management,Middle management,RI or ESG specialist,Non RI or ESG investment professional,Other (please specify): 'We have a Responsible Investment Advisory Board' | |||||
| 12. Do you have a policy or approach/process that requires screening out or excluding stocks or sectors from your investment universe? | We do not screen or exclude stocks or sectors | |||||
| 13. What are your reasons for screening out or excluding stocks or sectors from your investment universe?(Please check all that apply.) | No Answer | |||||
| 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 measure risk adjusted performance against market bench marks and competitors. We monitor the relative returns of our RI Engagement targeted companies for effectiveness of our engagement. | |||||
| 15. Please add any overall comments and clarifications related to Governance, Policy, and Strategy here. | We have a Shari'ah fund where we screen to ensure the fund is compliant with Shari'ah law. We do not screen out or exclude shares in any other funds. We have always applied an engagement overlay approach which aligns with the PRI framework. | |||||
| 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. | 1. Investment philosophy incorporates ESG and sustainability issues to add value and reduce downside risk. 2. One focused team responsible for incorporating ESG issues into the investment analysis and decision making. 3. Investment process specifically includes ESG issues. 4. We do not screen. (except as required for our Shari'ah funds). | |||||
| 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 (emerging markets) | 100 | |||||
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 (emerging markets) | To a large extent | |||||
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.)
| To a large extent | |||||
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.)
| To a large extent | |||||
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.)
| To a large extent | |||||
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.)
| To a large extent | |||||
| 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. | 1. One philosophy that incorporates ESG and sustainability. 2. Process and people aligned with the philosophy. 3. Signatory investor and sponsor to the Carbon Disclosure Project in South Africa provides access to data and builds awareness of how investee companies are positioning themselves for a low carbon environment. 4.Our participation in the Emerging Market Disclosure Project builds awareness and provides access to ESG data. 5.We hold workshops with the whole investment team to improve ESG awareness. e.g. Safety and Skills in the mining industry. Readiness of SA companies for emerging climate change regulation. 6.All portfolio managers, which includes our CIO, attend and particpate in the report back and dialogue with our Responsible Investment Advisory Board | |||||
| 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. | - We have a proxy voting and engagment policy - We vote all resolutions for the equities that we hold. - We report on our website all reasons for abstensions or votes against management. - We use the voting and engagement information to improve our ESG analysis of investee companies - We have built an enagagement capability - We have an 8 year track record of voting and enagaging. - We have integrated the engagement capability into our one investment team (See case study in PRI Report on Progress 2008. - All analysts attend AGMs,GMs, engagement and management meetings. - CIO fully involved in engagement planning and strategy. - Engagements are documented - Material engagements presented to our Advisory Board to improve our active ownership strategy and decision making. | |||||
| (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: 'www.fraters.co.za/engagement/voting.asp' | |||||
| 29. Does your (proxy) voting policy address environmental, social, and governance issues? | ||||||
| Environmental | Yes | |||||
| Social | Yes | |||||
| 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,Internal voting or governance group | |||||
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 | 811 | 811 | ||||
| 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 or client-specific policies | |||||
| 36. How does your securities lending program address voting? | We do not have a securities lending program | |||||
| 37. How many shareholder resolutions related to ESG issues did you file or co-file during 2008? | ||||||
| As lead filer | 0 | |||||
| As co-filer | 0 | |||||
| Planning to be lead filer in 2009 | 0 | |||||
| Planning to be co-filer in 2009 | 0 | |||||
| 38. Please explain why you did or did not file or co-file any shareholder resolutions related to RI/ESG issues during 2008: | - We engage directly with Boards and executive management - Our view is that a resolution is an indication of no progress on the engagement - All egagement activity achieved acceptable progress in 2008 - In South Africa we have the right to call an Extraordinary general meeting which is an influential tool for management to engage with us and take action on issues we raise. | |||||
| 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 engagement service provider(s) | Did not engage with companies in 2008 | |||||
| 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.) | Yes - disclosed publicly: 'www.fraters.co.za/engagement/activities.asp' | |||||
| 41. If you have an engagement policy or other documents that direct engagement, what do they include?(Please check all that apply.) | Expectations of companies with regards to environmental issues,Expectations of companies with regards to social issues,Expectations of companies with regards to governance issues,Approach to monitoring companies,Approach to selecting companies for engagement | |||||
| 42. How many companies are you invested in? | 57 | |||||
| Engagement - internal staff | ||||||
43. To what extent do you have a process for identifying and prioritising ESG related engagement opportunities?
| To a large extent | |||||
44. How many portfolio companies did you engage with on ESG issues in 2008?
| ||||||
| Extensive engagement | 5 | |||||
| Moderate engagement | 9 | |||||
| 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 | 50 | |||||
| Social | 21 | |||||
| Governance | 92 | |||||
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 large extent | |||||
| Engagement - external engagement service provider(s) | ||||||
49. 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 engagement service provider(s) engage with on ESG issues on your behalf in 2008?
| ||||||
| Extensive engagement | ||||||
| Moderate engagement | ||||||
| Basic engagement | ||||||
| 50. This question is not applicable to you due to your response to Q39 regarding who engages with companies. 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 | ||||||
| Social | ||||||
| Governance | ||||||
51. 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 engagement service provider(s)?
| No Answer | |||||
| 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.) | Activities in conflict zones,Benefits and compensation,Bribery/corruption,Climate change,Environment,Governance,Health and safety,HIV/AIDS,Human rights,Labour issues,Other (please specify): 'Black Economic Empowerment' | |||||
| 57. What measures do you or your external service provider(s) use to assess the impact and success of engagement? | - Comparison of results to engagement objectives. - Assessment by Advisory Board - Assessment by Investment Committee. - Assessment by CIO. | |||||
| 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. | - Our restructuring of the invetment teams into one team has positioned all analysts to engage with companies. - Our diverse and multi- experienced Advisory Board plays an important role in the assessment of our overall active engagement policies and practices. | |||||
| 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. | - ESG Inforation is critical for valuation purpose. - Engage and vote to improve ESG disclosure. - Participate in CDP and Emerging Market disclosure project to help improve ESG disclosure in South Africa. - Often asked for commentary on Sustainability reporting of the companies in which we invest | |||||
| 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,Internal staff collaboratively with other investors | |||||
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 (emerging markets) | To a large extent | |||||
| 62. What formats of reporting on ESG issue policies, practices or performance have been requested? Please check all that apply. | Integrated with regular financial reports,Global Reporting Initiative (GRI),Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) | |||||
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 large 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. | - Signatory investor to CDP6 - Sponsor of CDP6 in South Africa. - Participate in Emerging Market Disclosure Project - First South African Asset Manager to become a signatory to the EITI - First South African Asset Manager to sign the PRI. | |||||
| 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. | - One of our approaches has been to build the awareness of a number of business journalists as to the importance of the UN PRI. We believe that this gives us the greatest possible reach in South Africa to communicate the importnace of the principles for the investment industry. - We have also requested sell side analysts to improve and integrate ESG issues into their research. - We meet with and encourage the activities of the analysts that are most involved in providing ESG research. (Avior and Cadiz) - We have encouraged and participated in research carried out by UNISA into the state of responsible investment in South Africa - We have encouraged our insitutional clients (e.g Pension funds) to become signatories of the UN PRI themselves where they have not done so. | |||||
| 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 | Yes, all of the time | |||||
| 67. Have you included RI/ESG elements in the following? | ||||||
| Investment monitoring | Yes, all of the time | |||||
| Incentive structure (internally managed) | Yes, some of the time | |||||
| Incentive structure (externally managed) | Not applicable | |||||
| Contractual relationships with external investment managers | Not applicable | |||||
| Contractual relationships with other investment related service providers | Not applicable | |||||
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.)
| To a large extent | |||||
69. To what extent did you encourage your institutional clients to become PRI signatories or consider RI/ESG factors in 2008?
| To a large extent | |||||
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? | Yes | |||||
| 73A. What is your total investment research budget (including brokerage commissions intended to recognize research, in the same currency used in Q1) | 39000000 | |||||
| 73B. what proportion of your total investment research budget is allocated to ESG research (in percent)? | 20 | |||||
74. To what extent do you identify ESG issues and suggest them to brokers or other investment research providers for research?
| To a moderate extent | |||||
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 large 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. | - We regularly meet with business journalists to help build the awareness of the PRI. We believe this will help encourage asset owners to sign and to improve their allocation of ESG mandates to investment managers that have signed the PRI and are actively working to integrate the principles in their investment processes. - We have participated and made ourselves available to help UNISA with research they are doing into the understanding of fiduciary duty by the role players in the investment chain. - We request stockbrokers to incorporate ESG research into their coverage. | |||||
| 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. | Our approach is to work with PRI signatories to improve ESG disclosure in South Africa. We believe his will lead to better information, better information leads to better valuations of investee companies and better valuations lead to better investment decisions. | |||||
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 large extent | |||||
| Principle 2 | To a large extent | |||||
| Principle 3 | To a large extent | |||||
| Principle 4 | To a large extent | |||||
| 79. How did you use the PRI Engagement Clearinghouse in 2008?(Please check all that apply.) | Logged in during 2008 to use the Clearinghouse as a learning tool or to keep up to date on ongoing engagements,Joined a collaborative engagement led by another signatory that was posted to the Clearinghouse | |||||
| 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.) | Carbon Disclosure Project,CFA Institute Centre for Financial Market Integrity,Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI),Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC),International Corporate Governance Network (ICGN),United Nations Environmental Program Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) | |||||
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:
| ||||||
| Carbon Disclosure Project | To a large extent | -Signatory investor. -Sponsor to CDP5 and CDP6 in South Africa. - Engaged with a number of companies to persuade them to paticipate in the Carbon Disclosure Project. | ||||
| International Corporate Governance Network (ICGN) | To a moderate extent | -Attended ICGN events in Cape Town and Seoul. - Actively participated at conference. - Appointed Peter Butler (active ICGN member) to our Advisory Board. - Use ICGN guidelines to improve practice in South Africa. eg. ICGN Remuneration guidelines. | ||||
| United Nations Environmental Program Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) | To a small extent | -Attended World Business Council for Sustainable Development and UNEP FI ESG workshop in Johannesburg and activly participated. (The influencing of capital markets and valuation workstream) | ||||
| 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. | We have actively participated in the Carbon Disclosure project in South Africa and the Emerging Market Disclosure Project from their commencement as we believe these two initiatives have the greatest leverage to improve ESG awareness and action to improve disclosure. | |||||
| 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. | - We report to all clients and our Advisory Board using the PRI framework. - We report quarterly all Responsible Investment activity using the above framework. - Our proxy voting is reported publically after each AGM and GM. - We explain on our website our abstentions and votes against management. - We provide a quarterly summary on our website of all voting. | |||||
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: 'Quarterly reporting to clients and our Advisory Board' | |||||
| 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 to clients or beneficiaries,Disclosed publicly: 'www.fraters.co.za/engagement/voting.asp',All votes,Summary of votes,Guidance explaining all votes,Disclosed continuously (soon after votes are cast) | |||||
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 large extent: 'Engagement activity is reported to all clients and our Advisory Board. Pubclicly via interaction with financiail journalists' | |||||
| 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 | |||||
| Principle 4 | Yes - to clients or beneficiaries | |||||
| Principle 5 | Yes - to clients or beneficiaries | |||||
| 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. | We report all voing decisions publically. Engagement activity and progress is reported to clients and our Advisory Board. | |||||
| Closing Comments | ||||||
| 90. Please describe the benefits you have enjoyed as a result of signing the PRI: | - The PRI has provided our business with a framework that makes it easier to communicate our philosophy and investment processes. | |||||
| 91. What has your organisation changed as a direct result of becoming a PRI signatory? | We restructured our investment team and SRI team into one Responsible Investment team. | |||||
| 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. | We have not changed our Responsible Investment approach that has been developed over an 8 year period. | |||||
| 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. | Engage with all asset owners in South Africa and encourage them to become PRI signatories. | |||||
| 2. | Ensure signatories that sign are actually undertaking Responsible Investment activity before the 'honey moon' period is over. Investors will have little faith in the framework unless signatories are active and use the framework to reduce risk and add value for beneficiaries. Unfortunately in South Africa there are many signatories, but little actual PRI work is undertaken by most of them. | |||||
| 3. | Encourage global governance framework bodies to include active ownership in their governance codes, stock exchange regulations to reinforce this and pension fund regulation to require trustees to exercise voting rights according to a proxy voting policy that is in the long term interests of the company and stakeholders. | |||||
| 94. What are your top three PRI-related goals/priorities for 2009? | ||||||
| 1. | Encourage all our clients to become PRI signatories if they have not yet done so. | |||||
| 2. | Increase our ESG research and encourage sell side analysts to make more quality research available and persuade business journalists as to the advantages of PRI. | |||||
| 3. | We continually seek to improve our responsible investment approach with the assistance of our skilled and experienced Advisory Board. | |||||
| 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. | The way in which the creation of one investment team has impoved our ability to build awareness and integrate ESG research. | |||||
| Principle 2: We will be active owners and incorporate ESG issues into our ownership policies and practices. | Successful engagements that have helped add value for our clients and their beneficiaries. | |||||
| Principle 3: We will seek appropriate disclosure on ESG issues by the entities in which we invest. | Our involvement with the Emerging Market Disclosure Project. | |||||
| Principle 4: We will promote acceptance and implementation of the Principles within the investment industry. | Our media relationships and encouragement of clients have helped build the profile of the PRI in South Africa. | |||||
| Principle 5: We will work together to enhance our effectiveness in implementing the Principles. | Our participation in the Emerging Markets Disclosure project. | |||||
| Principle 6: We will each report on our activities and progress towards implementing the Principles. | Using the PRI framework to report all our Responsible Investment activity to all clients and our Advisory Board. | |||||
| 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. | No direct revenue received for Responsible Investment activity.Good internal and external ESG research is costly. | |||||
| Principle 2: We will be active owners and incorporate ESG issues into our ownership policies and practices. | No major barriers | |||||
| Principle 3: We will seek appropriate disclosure on ESG issues by the entities in which we invest. | Time taken by companies to improve their ESG reporting.Companies producing separate sustainability reports using external consultants and not integrating with financial reporting. | |||||
| Principle 4: We will promote acceptance and implementation of the Principles within the investment industry. | Limited support and awareness of the importance of the PRI by the asset owners. | |||||
| Principle 5: We will work together to enhance our effectiveness in implementing the Principles. | The competitiveness of the industry. We are the leaders in RI in South Africa - many of our competitors are signatories with little to show of their PRI involvement. | |||||
| Principle 6: We will each report on our activities and progress towards implementing the Principles. | No barriers | |||||
| 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 5 | |||||
| Least difficult | Principle 6 | |||||