Codes of Conduct
Robeco’s clients include private investors, wealthy clients and institutional investors of all sizes and from all regions of the world. Together they represent a very diverse set of values and preferences. Robeco cannot decide for its clients what their values and preferences should be. This is why Robeco has chosen broadly accepted external codes of conduct in order to assess the social responsibility of the entities it invests in.
Also, acting responsibly beyond the required legal minimum, Robeco seeks independent, broadly accepted codes of conduct of high quality, given its heterogeneous client base. Several of these codes of conduct are signed by Robeco and/or Robeco’s parent company, Rabobank.
The Dutch Corporate Governance Code
In its capacity as shareholder, Robeco applies the Dutch Corporate Governance Code (IV.4 Shareholder responsibility). The provisions in the Dutch Corporate Governance Code are the generally accepted basic principles of good governance for Dutch companies.
Robeco takes its responsibility as a shareholder seriously and each quarter gives full account of its voting behaviour for its investment funds on the corporate website. Furthermore, Robeco applies its own voting policy. In our 'Responsible Investing' quarterly report, we report on how the voting policy has been implemented in the relevant quarter.
In some cases, Robeco uses its own interpretation of the best practice provision IV 4.4 in the interest of its clients. This section proposes limitations for the execution of the right to put proposals on the agenda (response time). The maximum response time of 180 days described in this best-practice provision conflicts with the legal right of shareholders to propose an agenda item for the meeting of shareholders within a maximum of 60 days prior to the meeting. In individual cases, Robeco will assess whether the response time is in the interest of shareholders. Robeco will only exercise the right to propose items for the agenda after discussion with the company’s management.
If Robeco has put an item on the agenda, Robeco will always give an explanation at the meeting and will answer any questions.
The codes of conduct followed by Robeco are:
OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises