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Our latest annual report offers a comprehensive view of how we add value through active stewardship.
Our annual stewardship report reflects our commitment to provide clients and other key stakeholders with transparency into our initiatives, actions, and the progress we made in 2023. We have long believed that stewardship is most effective when it is inextricably linked to the core investment philosophy. In this report, we illustrate this alignment of our approach, which is value driven, long-term oriented, and horizontally integrated.
Covering our integrated environmental, social, and governance (ESG) research and active ownership, it provides examples of our practices and their tangible outcomes and includes discussions on key initiatives in the areas of climate change, digital ethics, and modern slavery, as well as program metrics and case studies of our efforts to advocate for positive change through engagement and voting. We also review our contributions to promoting well-functioning markets, address systemic and potential market risks, and detail collaborations with organizations that we see playing critical roles in setting industry standards and guiding stewardship best practices.
Highlights of our stewardship efforts in 2023 include:
- We conducted 135 engagements on ESG-specific matters with 98 portfolio businesses domiciled in 19 countries.
- During our engagements, we most frequently addressed concerns related to human capital management, board structure or composition, and capital structure.
- We voted on 100 percent of all eligible proxy items, casting 96 percent of votes in favor of management recommendations and four percent in opposition.
- Our votes against management most frequently pertained to proposals on electing directors, compensation, capitalization, and other business “blank check” items as well as shareholder proposals.
The report features numerous case studies of portfolio businesses to illustrate how we have built constructive relationships with management teams through exchanging information and perspectives and influencing positive changes in their businesses. These studies provide examples of escalation, proxy voting, engagement on executive compensation, transition risk, and modern slavery among others.
As a collection of our most salient stewardship perspectives and relevant reporting on progress, the 2023 stewardship report is designed to be a comprehensive resource for clients, consultants, and other stakeholders and to address the reporting requirements of the UK Stewardship Code.
Disclosures:
The views expressed are the opinion of Sands Capital and are not intended as a forecast, a guarantee of future results, investment recommendations, or an offer to buy or sell any securities. The views expressed were current as of the date indicated and are subject to change.
This material may contain forward-looking statements, which are subject to uncertainty and contingencies outside of Sands Capital’s control. Readers should not place undue reliance upon these forward-looking statements.
There is no guarantee that Sands Capital will meet its stated goals. Past performance is not indicative of future results. You should not assume that any investment is or will be profitable. GIPS® Reports found here.
Sands Capital regularly engages with the management teams and, if appropriate, board members of portfolio businesses to better understand each business’s long-term strategic vision and management of risks and opportunities, including those pertaining to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) matters. More information is available in the Sands Capital Engagement Policy at https://sandscapital.com/media/Sands-Capital-Engagement-Policy-Statement.pdf.
Per Sands Capital’s Proxy Voting Policy, there may be situations in which the firm may abstain from voting a particular proxy or proposal. Please refer to Sands Capital’s Proxy Voting Policy located at https://www.sandscapital.com/stewardship for additional information. All proxy proposal decisions listed are the opinion of Sands Capital and are not intended as a forecast, a guarantee of future results, investment recommendation, or an offer to buy or sell any securities.