We deeply regret the scenes of terror we are witnessing in Ukraine, and the new era of geopolitical insecurity that it heralds. We are working quickly to review the wide-ranging implications of these developments for our clients and assess the most appropriate and constructive actions to take as responsible investors.
Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine has severe implications for human rights and presents significant challenges to businesses with ties to both countries. These include protecting workers in Ukraine, managing supply chain disruptions, and spikes in energy, food, and commodity prices, among others. On the other hand corporations are facing significant operational and reputational risk from continued presence in Russia and are under pressure to take rapid action.
Divestment is one potential response from the investor community to the crisis in a bid to isolate Russia, but engagement with companies with exposure to the region is also critical. In this note we provide an insight into our initial dialogues and the questions we believe should be asked.
