ARLINGTON, VA, December 7, 2022 - Leading global advisory, broking and solutions company WTW’s (NASDAQ: WTW) Thinking Ahead Institute (TAI) has been selected by the United Nations supported Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) to research and assess the appropriate level of resources that institutional investors should be prepared to dedicate to stewardship within their organizations.
The joint TAI/PRI project is global and will involve an institutional benchmarking study to better understand current stewardship practices, resourcing requirements and other key costs. It will include examples of best practice stewardship by asset owners and asset managers and how their activity is monitored, measured and disclosed. In addition, it will propose a calculation methodology to estimate appropriate levels of resources that investors should be prepared to dedicate to both direct and market stewardship activities, in order to have a real-world impact.
“The investment industry is at a pivotal moment in determining its role in shaping future economies, societies and the environment around us,” said Marisa Hall, co-head of the Thinking Ahead Institute. “We are very excited to be working in partnership with PRI, our Thinking Ahead Institute membership and other engaged investors to set industry guidance for investors on stewardship resources. This is an important project aimed at encouraging positive behavioral change and increasing stewardship resources commensurate with rising systemic risks. Robust and well-resourced stewardship practices are vital to ensuring that investors are able to maximize overall long-term value. It also strongly aligns with our mission in the institute to mobilize capital for a sustainable future.”
"The PRI welcomes the opportunity to work with the Thinking Ahead Institute on stewardship resourcing. Effective stewardship relies on good practice but also on having the right level of capacity in place to make progress. As responsible investors grapple with ever greater threats from systemic sustainability issues, we look forward to working with the institute and with our signatories to help the industry better understand what the right level of resourcing is to protect long-term returns." said Paul Chandler, Director of Stewardship.
The project will involve interested industry participants from across the size and asset-class spectrum and is expected be completed in July 2023. More information on how to get involved and apply to join the Stewardship Resourcing Working group.
The Thinking Ahead Institute was established in January 2015 and is a global not-for-profit investment research and innovation member group made up of engaged institutional asset owners and service providers committed to changing and improving the investment industry for the benefit of the end saver. It has over 55 members around the world with combined responsibility for over US$16 trillion and is an outgrowth of WTW Investments’ Thinking Ahead Group, which was set up in 2002.
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