We believe fair and transparent governance is essential for a company’s long-term success and we have long adhered to environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards.
Incorporating sustainability discussions into the fixed income research process can be advantageous from an investment perspective, thus benefiting client portfolios.
In-depth, fundamental research supports our investment decisions. We depend on companies to be transparent; we see weak governance as a ‘red flag’ and a potential credit risk. Consequently, we do not invest in companies where we detect poor governance practices.
Public Markets – Meetings with company management teams are a key component of our investment research process. These meetings create an opportunity for us to engage constructively with management teams on specific concerns, often relating to ESG criteria.
The underlying aim that governs our engagement with companies is to participate in stimulating an environment of continual ESG improvement and greater corporate disclosure.
Private Markets – We provide growth capital to businesses in industries we believe can help build diversified economies. We focus on providing financial solutions for smaller companies that offer sustainable, local employment opportunities to their communities.
We seek out company owners and management teams we can actively support through value-building acquisitions, capital expansion, and shareholder transitions that unlock value, enhance productivity, and drive long-term economic growth.
Key ESG Risks
We define environmental risk as a company’s environmental impact and the economic implications arising from a mismanagement of such risk.
We define social risk as a company’s interaction with its workforce, stakeholders and with the overall community that supports its operations.
We believe that governance risk is particularly relevant to corporate credit investors as it includes, but is not limited to, a company’s ethical standards, transparency practices and appropriate governance structures to protect the interests of bondholders.
