Questions for your Manager - March 2016

The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association publishes monthly topical questions to aid trustees in considering the effectiveness of their managers’ stewardship activity. We encourage funds to ask these questions during their regular manager reviews in an effort to understand their managers’ approaches and activities and to ensure that they are adhering to the stewardship policies.

MARCH'S TOPICAL QUESTIONS FOR YOUR MANAGER

1. The Share Action campaign group have highlighted concerns that the overuse of anti-biotics in livestock production could lead to the development of drug-resistant bacteria, creating a serious risk to public health. Share Action and other investors have written to the Yum! Brands corporation, owners of KFC and Pizza Hut, asking them to produce concrete plans for the removal of all medically important anti-biotics from their supply chain. You can find out more about the Share Action initiative by contacting Juliet Phillips via [email protected].

Question: Have you supported the Share Action campaign on anti-biotics, and are you monitoring the use of anti-biotics in the supply chain of investee companies more generally?

2. A study in the US has criticised major asset managers Vanguard, Fidelity and JP Morgan  for their failure to support ‘proxy access’ – proposals for shareholder-nominated Directors to take seats on the boards of investee companies – at company AGMs. Critics of proxy access argue that it hinders company autonomy and agility, while advocates say it is a key driver of shareholder value and corporate accountability.

Question: What is your position on proxy access and under what circumstances do you consider such proposals necessary/merited?

Read previous month's questions here.