CT Responsible Global Emerging Markets Equity Strategy – ESG Profile and Impact Report 2022

When we began our responsible investing journey more than 12 years ago with the launch of Responsible Global Emerging Markets Strategy, we were considered by the wider market to be outsiders. Being a responsible investor was contrarian anyway, but doing that in emerging markets was a whole different level of absurdity. Many questions were raised then, often centering around ESG being a fad or climate change being seen as business as usual. We are pleased that this is no longer the case. Today, responsible investing has moved mainstream, where competition has never been greater and stakeholder capitalism has taken hold, providing greater outcomes not just for shareholders but for the wider community.

As investors, we’ve evolved from investing to avoid harmful sectors to targeting companies with substantial positive contributions on both environmental and social fronts. We’ve also focused on how we define our impact both qualitatively and quantitively. Throughout this journey we have been supported by our intelligent, passionate and experienced Responsible Investment team. They have played a pivotal role in defining what makes a good responsible investment, which remains one of the clearest frameworks to demonstrate impact and positive contribution in our industry. This is particularly important as ESG-related phrases are used without clear definitions or a common understanding. Continuous improvement is part of our DNA and the cross-pollination between our two teams has created a ‘best of both’ approach.

Presenting how our investments are having both positive and negative impact remains a crucial part of our analysis in our impact report. We believe nuance and rigor are required to make the right long-term investment decisions. Some of the noteworthy additions this year are the year-on-year comparisons of our impact metric performance, expanded climate change data addressing the increased sophistication, and an updated SDG mapping chart to improve readability, combined with an overview of our approach to impact investing in listed equities.

We hope you will find the report an enjoyable, enlightening read that continues to deepen your understanding of our strategy. As ever, we welcome all feedback, and we thank you for the trust that you place in our strategy and our team.