51 firms with nearly £10.5tr of assets under management complete the NAPF Stewardship Disclosure Framework

The National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) published its Stewardship Disclosure Framework in October 2013.  Since then, 51 asset managers (including 30 of the 50 largest firms by assets under management which have signed up to the Stewardship Code) have responded to the NAPF’s call for greater transparency and completed a Framework for their firm.  These firms represent almost £10.5tr of assets under management AUM.

A further six firms have committed to completing the Framework by the end of March 2014, representing a further £3tr of AUM.  Completion of the NAPF’s Stewardship Disclosure Framework by these firms will bring the total to 57 asset managers representing almost £14tr of AUM.

While a large number of fund managers have signed up to the Stewardship Code many have yet to rise to the challenge set by the NAPF’s Framework of making their stewardship activities more transparent to current and prospective pension fund clients.

The NAPF has identified the 50 largest asset managers1 by value of AUM that are signatories to the Stewardship Code2. At the end of 2012 this universe represented close to £19tr of AUM.  Of this group, 15 asset managers with AUM approaching £4.5tr have so far yet to respond to the NAPF Framework:

BNP Paribas Investment Partners

• Cohen & Steers
• Credit Suisse
• Fidelity Worldwide Investment
• Fisher Investments
• Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management
• Mondrian Investment Partners
• Morgan Stanley Investment Management
• Neuberger Berman
• Nomura Asset Managers
• Northern Trust Global Investments
• Old Mutual Global Investors
• Pictet Asset Management
• Wellington Management Company
• William Blair & Company

Joanne Segars, Chief Executive, NAPF, said:

“51 asset managers, including 30 of the 50 largest asset management firms that have signed the Stewardship Code, representing nearly £10.5 trillion of assets under management, have completed the NAPF’s Stewardship Disclosure Framework in the four months since it was launched.  This is a huge step towards ensuring pension funds can readily understand and compare the stewardship approach taken by investment managers. 

“Six other large firms have pledged to complete the NAPF Framework by the end of March and we welcome their commitment, yet a number of signatories of the Stewardship Code have yet to complete a Framework.  Inevitably, this raises questions about their willingness to give transparency in this crucial area. With pension schemes like those sponsored by BT, Barclays, British Airways, Marks & Spencer, Nationwide and Whitbread having signed up to the Stewardship Code it is hard to imagine why an asset manager would not want to disclose their stewardship credentials to existing and future clients.”

Asset management firms that have completed the NAPF Stewardship Disclosure Framework:

• 7IM
• Aberdeen Asset Management PLC
• Aberforth Partners LLP
• Adelphi Capital LLP
• Artemis Investment Management LLP
• Aviva Investors
• AXA Investment Managers
• Baillie Gifford & Co
• Baring Asset Management Ltd
• BlackRock
• Cantillon Capital Management LLP
• Capital International
• Dimensional Fund Advisors
• F&C Investments
• GAM Holdings AG
• Generation Investment Management LLP
• Goldman Sachs Asset Management International
• Governance for Owners
• Henderson Global Investors
• Hermes Fund Managers
• HSBC Global Asset Management (UK)
• Insight Investment
• Invesco Perpetual
• Investec Asset Management
• J.P. Morgan Asset Management
• Kames Capital
• Kempen Capital Management (UK) Ltd
• Lazard Asset Management Ltd
• Legal & General Investment Managers
• Liontrust
• M & G Investment Management Limited
• Newton Investmtne Management
• Oldfield Partners LLP
• RBC Asset Management UK Limited
• Royal London Asset Management
• Russell Investments
• Schroder Investment Management Limited
• Slater Investments Limited
• Standard Life Investments
• SVG Investment Managers
• SVM Asset Management
• T.Rowe Price
• Taube Hodson Stonex Partners LLP
• Thomas Miller Investment
• Threadneedle Asset Management
• TOBAM
• ToscaFund Asset Management LLP
• UBS Global Asset Management
• Unigestion (UK) Ltd
• Walter Scott & Partners Limited
• WHEB Asset Management

In addition to the 51 formal responses received, the following six firms, representing in excess of £3tr AUM, have committed to completing the NAPF Framework by the end of March 2014: 

• Allianz Global Investors
• Ashmore Investment Management
• Franklin Templeton Investments
• Jupiter Asset Management
• State Street Global Advisors
• Vanguard Asset Management

 

Notes to editors

The NAPF is the leading voice of workplace pensions in the UK. We speak for 1,300 pension schemes with some 16 million members and assets of around £900 billion. NAPF members also include over 400 businesses providing essential services to the pensions sector.

More than 50 asset managers, representing over £10 trillion of assets under management, have now responded to our request for greater transparency – all of the completed Frameworks can be found on the NAPF website here.

Footnote 1 The NAPF has identified the largest asset managers by AUM which are signatories to the Stewardship Code (in some cases this may be a subsidiary of the parent company).  The AUM figures were taken from P&I/Towers Watson global 500 ranking, year-end 2012, where a firm did not feature in the P&I/Towers Watson list a figure was obtained from the firm’s public website.

Footnote 2 The Stewardship Code was issued by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) in July 2010. Its objective is to facilitate better engagement between organisations and shareholders to help improve governance and long-term returns. The Code is primarily directed at investment managers who act on behalf of asset owners. But asset owners, such as pension funds, are also strongly encouraged by the FRC to report if and how they have complied with the Code’s Principles.

 

Contacts

Lucy Grubb, Head of Media and PR, NAPF, 020 7601 1726 or 07713 073023, [email protected]

Eleanor Bennett, Press Officer, 020 7601 1718 or 07825 171 446, [email protected]