Active ownership
Active ownership is a key tenet of sustainable investing, which has been part of Robeco’s DNA for decades. We believe that being active owners of the companies in which we invest contributes to both investment results and society. We have huge experience in using engagement to seek improvements in the sustainable characteristics of companies, and voting on issues at shareholder meetings.
Stewardship
Stewardship means responsibly managing the assets that have been entrusted to us, and reporting openly on how we uphold sustainability principles when doing so. Actively exercising our stewardship responsibilities is an integral part of Robeco’s SI approach.
It is closely aligned with our investment mission – to use research-based, quality-driven processes to produce the best possible long-term results for our clients. Therefore, our stewardship activities are aimed at long-term value creation in our wide range of portfolios.
Robeco Stewardship Report 2023
Facts & figures
Source: Robeco, Stewardship Report 2023
*The assets-under-engagement/voting figures shown below are based on Robeco’s equity and credit portfolios for which we conduct engagements and voting. Robeco also votes and engages with clients whose portfolios are run by other asset managers; we call these ‘overlay clients’. In 2023, we had 11 overlay clients, representing roughly EUR 300 billion in assets.
billion assets under engagement*
markets voted
companies engaged
billion assets under voting*
cases closed successfully
engagement themes
engagement cases
meetings voted against management
shareholder meetings voted
proposals we voted on
Where we engage and vote
How we progress (Themes and companies under engagement)
Active ownership reporting
Keeping clients and stakeholders informed of our stewardship activities is an important element of exercising our responsibilities. Every quarter we outline the highlights of our active ownership activities, providing insight into our voting and engagement achievements, trends we observe, and the major themes we’re following.
Highlights of our active ownership activitiesProxy voting results
Robeco votes at around 5,000 shareholder annual general meetings every year. Transparency is a vital part of sustainability, so we publish our voting records on our website and in quarterly and annual reports. Robeco has not been afraid to vote against contentious proposals or resolutions at shareholder meetings, and has often voted against the reappointment of directors who have not fulfilled their obligations to good governance, including issues of remuneration.
ShareAction ranks Robeco best
Robeco’s commitment to using its vote was recognized in January 2024 by ShareAction, the UK-based research group. Its latest survey assessing how 69 of the world’s largest asset managers voted at company AGMs in 2023 ranked Robeco among the best for voting on shareholder resolutions addressing environmental and social issues. It follows ShareAction’s 2023 report in which Robeco was the only one of 77 asset managers given an AA rating for sustainable investing.
Stewardship & collaboration
Robeco believes strongly in collaboration in a rapidly changing world. We therefore work with a wide range of international organizations as part of our commitment to making financial markets more sustainable. We are signatories to a diverse array of global initiatives, such as the Principles for Responsible Investment, the United Nations Global Compact and the International Corporate Governance Network. We are also members of more bespoke initiatives such as the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change, the Transition Pathway Initiative. Put simply, we believe we are stronger together.
Relevant codes and memberships