Stewardship
UTAM is an active owner: we bring a responsible investing view to our engagement with public companies, the exercise of shareholder voting rights, and our advocacy efforts.
Engagement
One of the pillars of a best-in-class active ownership approach is engagement with companies. UTAM engages via collaborations with other institutional investors, and by working with specialized providers of corporate engagement services to extend our global reach.
Whatever engagement avenue we pursue, the goal is the same: to seek accountability on ESG matters affecting companies’ risk management, ongoing operations and long-term performance.
Proxy Voting
Proxy voting is one of the most important rights available to public equity investors. UTAM’s approach to proxy voting reflects our fiduciary duty to act in the best interest of our client, the University of Toronto.
As a responsible investor and PRI signatory, UTAM has adopted the Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) Sustainability Guidelines for proxy voting, and we apply these guidelines wherever possible.
Advocacy
Advocacy, for UTAM, refers to our interactions with law makers, regulators and governments with respect to responsible investing considerations.
As part of our advocacy efforts, we encourage policy makers to enhance corporate governance and shareholder accountability. We have also written letters to the Government of Canada asking that it update and strengthen our national commitments to the emissions reduction goal of the Paris Agreement, and that it take immediate and effective measures to eliminate child labour by 2025, as well as forced labour, human trafficking and all forms of modern slavery.
Such advocacy is consistent with our PRI commitment and our ESG-integration approach to responsible investing.
Responsible Investing Affiliations
We believe that our impact is magnified when we join forces with like-minded investors. UTAM collaborates with other institutional investors through various responsible investing organizations and initiatives, taking a leadership role in establishing best practices in Canada and worldwide.