Environmental, social, and governance
Invesco is committed to adopting and implementing responsible investing principles in a manner that is consistent with our fiduciary responsibilites to clients.
Active ownership (Proxy voting and engagements)
Our approach
Active ownership is an integral part of the investment process, and we see it as one of the most effective mechanisms to reduce risks, maximize returns, and have a positive impact on society and the environment. We believe the voting of proxies should be managed with the same care as every other element of the investment process. Our patented, proprietary voting portal allows us to build upon our institutional base of knowledge and provides a global platform for active internal diligence.
Our investment managers champion our high conviction approach and this in turn reflects a purposeful focus to proxy voting. Our active ownership policies and practices include ongoing engagement with company management, boards, and advisory bodies, on-site due diligence, and an internal governance committee.
Global Policy on Corporate Governance and Proxy Voting
Invesco's Global Policy sets forth the framework of our corporate governance approach, broad philosophy, and guiding principles that support the proxy voting practices of our investment teams around the world. Due to the varied nature of the global regulatory environment and market practices, this policy may not apply to all teams at all times. In the case of a conflict between this policy and the operating guidelines and procedures of a regional investment center, the latter will control.
View Invesco's Global Policy on Corporate Governance and Proxy Voting
Proxy Voting Guiding Principles
We conduct deep research, including consideration of the environmental and social impacts, which guides our voting on the company's resolutions and leads to robust voting outcomes for our clients. These principles guide our voting process in a manner that holds management accountable and places a primary focus on the interests of shareholders.
Maximizing the Shareholder Relationship
Active engagement and dialogue with our portfolio companies is a key element of our investment process.
Our investment teams may engage and, where necessary, question or challenge company management about ESG issues within the context of our fiduciary obligation to our clients. The occurrence, nature, and content of those engagements are confidential, which we believe serves to facilitate the engagement process and provides better outcomes for our clients.
Furthermore, we ask that issuers not share any material non-public information (MNPI) during engagement calls and/or meetings. If any MNPI is shared with Invesco, we may ask that the information be disclosed publicly immediately.
Following an unsuccessful vote or engagement, Invesco may use escalation strategies, such as engaging directly with the company’s board and/or senior management, collaborating with fellow shareholders, sponsoring service provider engagement, reducing investment, and ultimately divesting.
Our four-step approach to engagement
Email
In order to enhance Invesco's engagement with corporate issuers, please direct all requests to our global centralized mailbox at ESGengagements@invesco.com.
Research
Once the request is received, we look at all of our holdings by issuer, pull historical voting data and relevant research, and identify all internal investors that hold the respective issuer across Invesco.
Key topics
In advance of a call, we ask that issuers provide a "key topics" list of discussion points that includes material changes to key items such as compensation, management, or strategy.
Engagement
We believe that the most productive dialogue with our portfolio companies occurs outside peak voting season. Therefore, we suggest reaching out to Invesco in early fall of each year. Our proxy governance team reviews the nature of these requests, consults with the appropriate investors, and decides whether to: (i) gather feedback on a topic and provide that feedback to an issuer, (ii) coordinate a call with the issuer and our investors if it is deemed to be necessary, or (iii) engage directly and serve as a liaison.
ESG resources
Inquiries
ESG@invesco.com
Zoje Vataj
Director of Proxy Voting and Governance
zoje.vataj@invesco.com
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