Schroders’ Head of Active Ownership, Kimberley Lewis, has been announced as the co-winner of the Simon Fraser Stewardship Award by the Investor Forum. The Award, presented at the Investor Forum’s 8th Annual Review event on 23 January, recognises those with a strong commitment to advancing stewardship within investment decision making.
As Head of Active Ownership at Schroders, Kim is responsible for driving forward Schroders’ stewardship strategy, encompassing engagement and proxy voting. Under Kimberley's leadership, the team has launched an award-winning Engagement Blueprint, setting out Schroders’ engagement priorities for companies, clients, and other key stakeholders.
She has also demonstrated continued commitment to making the case for effective stewardship, engagement and escalation by: establishing a framework for assessing shareholder resolutions to demonstrate the range of factors considered in investment and stewardship decisions; convening yearly dialogue roundtables with the directors of some of the world’s largest companies; developing a shareholder meeting blog and voting disclosure website to encourage transparency on voting rationales and; establishing an annual corporate governance letter to all equity holdings.
Kim has also supported several of the Investor Forum’s advisory groups and speaker programmes.
Peter Harrison, Group Chief Executive, Schroders, commented: “Kim has had exceptional influence on both Schroders’ investment stewardship and across the wider industry. Her leadership has meant critical decisions on stewardship are at the heart of our investment decision making.
“Kim’s team regularly convenes large meetings of non-executives to ensure that the most challenging issues can be openly discussed, so that the long-term needs of all stakeholders are properly aligned. She has been willing to be brave and stand up when issues are contentious and as a result has had real impact. I see her as a clearheaded and outstanding leader in our industry.”
Nominees were assessed on how they put stewardship at the heart of investment decision making, demonstrate sound judgement and the ability to deal with challenging situations effectively and with integrity, demonstrating personal development or helping others to develop stewardship skills and focusing on practical outcomes which have had a noticeable impact.
The Investor Forum is a not-for-profit, practitioner-led membership organisation, set up by institutional investors in UK Equities. The Forum’s purpose is to position stewardship at the heart of investment decision-making by facilitating dialogue, creating long-term solutions and enhancing value. Joining Kim as a joint winner of this year’s award was Helene Winch, Head of Responsible Investing at Premier Miton Investors.
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Schroders plc
Schroders is a global investment management firm with £726.1 billion (€846.1 billion; $923.1 billion) assets under management, as at 30 June 2023. Schroders continues to deliver strong financial results in ever challenging market conditions, with a market capitalisation of circa £7 billion and over 6,100 employees across 38 locations. Established in 1804, the founding family remains a core shareholder, holding approximately 44% of Schroders’ shares.
Schroders has benefited from a diverse business model by geography, asset class and client type. It offers innovative products and solutions across four core growing business areas; asset management, solutions, Schroders Capital (private markets) and wealth management. Clients include insurance companies, pension schemes, sovereign wealth funds, high net worth individuals and foundations. Schroders also manages assets for end clients as part of its relationships with distributors, financial advisers and online platforms.
Schroders aims to provide excellent investment performance to clients through active management. It also channels capital into sustainable and durable businesses to accelerate positive change in the world. Schroders’ business philosophy is based on the belief that if we deliver for clients, we will deliver for our shareholders and other stakeholders.
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