Sustainability
December 2024
- We plan to prioritise optimising, fully embedding and scaling our sustainability processes in 2025
- Clients now favour managers with the most engagement impact rather than the most engagements
- This shift allows us to demonstrate our contribution to sustainable value creation through engagement
During 2024, we continued to deliver on our strategic goals and targets under the pillars of GAM’s commitments, embedding ESG, active stewardship, sustainable solutions and corporate sustainability.
Oversight and controls
As GAM enters a new phase of maturity in its sustainability journey, we plan to prioritise optimising, fully embedding and scaling our sustainability processes in 2025. This will ensure ongoing alignment between GAM’s sustainability framework and its approach to investment oversight and controls.
Growing importance of data and technology integration
GAM remains committed to sustainability innovation, data integration and transparent reporting. We anticipate a heightened focus on data and technology in ESG reporting during 2025. Building on the success of the award-winning Net Zero Alignment Assessment Tool (NZAAT), we are developing and honing our suite of in-house tools to support the integration of ESG within the investment process and ensure compliance in an ever-evolving regulatory space.
Active Stewardship
In 2025, our stewardship efforts will focus on the most financially material matters. Clients now favour managers with the most engagement impact rather than the most engagements. We believe this shift allows us to demonstrate our contribution to sustainable value creation through engagement. We will continue leveraging our active approach to proxy voting to interact with our portfolio companies, ensuring we review each topic in the context of the individual company.
The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has launched a consultation on proposed updates to the UK Stewardship Code. We were encouraged to see the streamlined reporting requirements and principles, which should help focus on material information and allow us to tell our engagement stories.
You can read our latest Stewardship Report here.
COP29 (The 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference)
COP29 is controversially being held in Baku, Azerbaijan, an authoritarian state with a poor track record in political freedoms and human rights. The primary aim of COP29 is to agree on a new target for funding developing countries to help them adapt to climate-fuelled weather disasters and transition to cleaner energy systems. Progress on the ‘new collective quantified goal’ (NCQG) has been slow, with countries clashing over financing sources and responsibility. The election of President Trump and the likely US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement pose a notable blow to climate ambition.
Forward looking
As we move into 2025, we see ESG fully embedded within GAM, recognising sustainability factors as critical to longer-term success. We remain focused on ESG goals which align with GAM’s business objectives and longer-term value creation for our clients through developing products and strategies to meet their investment and sustainability requirements.
We look forward to sharing more on our strategic goals and objectives in our Sustainability Report, which will be published in early 2025.
You can read our most recent Sustainability Report here.
Katherine Roach is Global Head of Sustainability & Investments Business Management at GAM Investments.
Important disclosures and information
The information contained herein is given for information purposes only and does not qualify as investment advice. Opinions and assessments contained herein may change and reflect the point of view of GAM in the current economic environment. No liability shall be accepted for the accuracy and completeness of the information contained herein. Past performance is no indicator of current or future trends. The mentioned financial instruments are provided for illustrative purposes only and shall not be considered as a direct offering, investment recommendation or investment advice or an invitation to invest in any GAM product or strategy. Reference to a security is not a recommendation to buy or sell that security. The securities listed were selected from the universe of securities covered by the portfolio managers to assist the reader in better understanding the themes presented. The securities included are not necessarily held by any portfolio nor represent any recommendations by the portfolio managers nor a guarantee that objectives will be realized.
This material contains forward-looking statements relating to the objectives, opportunities, and the future performance of the U.S. market generally. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of such words as; “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “should,” “planned,” “estimated,” “potential” and other similar terms. Examples of forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, estimates with respect to financial condition, results of operations, and success or lack of success of any particular investment strategy. All are subject to various factors, including, but not limited to general and local economic conditions, changing levels of competition within certain industries and markets, changes in interest rates, changes in legislation or regulation, and other economic, competitive, governmental, regulatory and technological factors affecting a portfolio’s operations that could cause actual results to differ materially from projected results. Such statements are forward-looking in nature and involve a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, and accordingly, actual results may differ materially from those reflected or contemplated in such forward-looking statements. Prospective investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements or examples. None of GAM or any of its affiliates or principals nor any other individual or entity assumes any obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, subsequent events or any other circumstances. All statements made herein speak only as of the date that they were made.
The information contained herein is given for information purposes only and does not qualify as investment advice. Opinions and assessments contained herein may change and reflect the point of view of GAM in the current economic environment. No liability shall be accepted for the accuracy and completeness of the information contained herein. Past performance is no indicator of current or future trends. The mentioned financial instruments are provided for illustrative purposes only and shall not be considered as a direct offering, investment recommendation or investment advice or an invitation to invest in any GAM product or strategy. Reference to a security is not a recommendation to buy or sell that security. The securities listed were selected from the universe of securities covered by the portfolio managers to assist the reader in better understanding the themes presented. The securities included are not necessarily held by any portfolio nor represent any recommendations by the portfolio managers nor a guarantee that objectives will be realized.
This material contains forward-looking statements relating to the objectives, opportunities, and the future performance of the U.S. market generally. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of such words as; “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “should,” “planned,” “estimated,” “potential” and other similar terms. Examples of forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, estimates with respect to financial condition, results of operations, and success or lack of success of any particular investment strategy. All are subject to various factors, including, but not limited to general and local economic conditions, changing levels of competition within certain industries and markets, changes in interest rates, changes in legislation or regulation, and other economic, competitive, governmental, regulatory and technological factors affecting a portfolio’s operations that could cause actual results to differ materially from projected results. Such statements are forward-looking in nature and involve a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, and accordingly, actual results may differ materially from those reflected or contemplated in such forward-looking statements. Prospective investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements or examples. None of GAM or any of its affiliates or principals nor any other individual or entity assumes any obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, subsequent events or any other circumstances. All statements made herein speak only as of the date that they were made.