IN FOCUS6-8 min read
Launching our 2026 Engagement Blueprints
Our Engagement Blueprints establish our approach to using active ownership to navigate investment risks and opportunities.
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We are pleased to unveil updated Engagement Blueprints for 2026, for both listed assets and private markets. The Blueprints outline our commitment to using active ownership to protect and enhance the value of our clients’ investments.
These documents reflect the evolving landscape of environmental, social and governance issues across asset classes, ensuring our approaches remain relevant to address current and future sustainability risks.
You can read the full Blueprints here:
Key updates in the listed assets 2026 Blueprint
- Engagement across asset classes. We have streamlined our narrative on engagement approaches across asset classes. We have outlined the similarities and differences between equity and fixed income. This reflects our view that while there some nuances between asset classes which may impact our approach, engagements are more similar than they are different.
- Cross-thematic topics. We recognise that some topics cut across our six priority engagement themes (climate change, natural capital and biodiversity, human rights, human capital management, diversity and inclusion, and corporate governance). In this year’s Blueprint, we have expanded the number of cross-thematic topics to six (previously four). The six are: transition, geopolitics, supply chains, technology, health, and inequality. These better reflect the questions we receive from clients and ask of companies. They also align more closely with topics explored by our research colleagues, enabling us to better integrate research into engagement.
Key updates in the private markets 2026 Blueprint
- Defining active ownership within each asset class. With such a range of asset classes within Schroders Capital, we have updated the Blueprint to ensure our clients understand the differences in active ownership approach, the types of stakeholders we engage with and our targeted outcomes for each asset class.
- Defining stakeholder engagement. Across all asset classes, we define stakeholder engagement as engagement that is linked to individual investments as opposed to that which is broader ecosystem engagement such as with policy and industry initiatives.
- Updates to direct real estate and infrastructure pillars. Within our direct real estate and infrastructure pillars we have looked to define active ownership across two aspects: active management and stakeholder engagement. Regarding active management, where we act as active and responsible managers/stewards of assets, we ensure each asset is managed to a robust sustainability standard whilst aiming to deliver financial returns for our clients.
- Tracking engagement. We aim to raise awareness of how engagement should be defined for individual asset classes, along with improving our ability to monitor and track our engagement activities. This enables us to better understand the outcomes of our activities and surface this to our clients.
Both Blueprints are available below:
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