As at: 30/09/21

Overview

Filters

Fund information

Policy

Assessment criteria

For companies to pass the first hurdle, regional analysts identify stocks with quality management and superior earnings potential. To do this, they use their own research, direct company contacts, and valuation expectations from a variety of outside research sources.

Next, ASI’s experienced Responsible Investing team screens the companies against a number of ethical, environmental and social criteria. The team uses a list of well-researched and clearly defined criteria covering the three broad areas of ethical, environmental and social policies and practices when deciding whether to pass or fail each company.

The screening process uses negative exclusionary screening criteria and is also supported by ASI’s strong engagement approach to environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues. With negative screening, we examine companies to see if they are or have been involved in what we determine to be “areas of concern” over a defined historical period. Trends in adverse behaviour can suggest longer-term problems for an organisation. Companies failing our screening criteria are excluded from investment.

Negative screening

Aberdeen Standard Investments Global Ethical Equity Fund applies negative criteria to avoid investing in companies involved in certain industries and activities that our customers are concerned with. We will avoid investment in companies involved in the activities listed below:

• Adult entertainment: companies which derive over 5% of their gross annual revenue from the production, transmission or sale of pornographic materials.
• Alcohol production: companies which derive over 10% of their gross annual revenue from the production and/or sale of alcoholic beverages.
• Animal testing: companies that test or commission tests of their products on animals.
• Poor business practices: companies with evidence of poor business practices that cause harm to society or their employees.
• Cluster munitions/anti-personnel landmines: captured by ASI’s Controversial Weapons policy - https://www.aberdeenstandard. com/docs?editionId=fc0dd666-269a-40f4-a484-d044e4daad3d.
• Poor environmental practices: companies with evidence of poor environmental practices that cause harm to society or their employees.
• Gambling: companies which derive more than 10% of their gross annual revenue from betting or gambling operations and/or from supplying gambling equipment.
• Poor human rights record: companies that
  • operate in any country with a poor record of human rights and fail to have mechanisms in place to uphold human rights
  • face continued accusations of human rights abuses, no matter where they operate
  • have been involved in controversial projects that have been linked to human rights abuses
  • are deemed to be supporting controversial regimes.

Process

Resources, Affiliations & Corporate Strategies

ESG integration is a strategic priority for Aberdeen Standard Investments and is actively supported and promoted by senior executives, from our CEO downwards. In recognition of the importance of ESG, Euan Stirling, Global Head of Stewardship and ESG Investment, reports directly to Rod Paris, Chief Investment Officer, and Euan regularly attends the Investment Management Committee, chaired by the CIO. Reporting to Euan is the ESG leadership team, which focuses on maximising the quality and value of ESG engagement, research and analysis across all asset classes.

Our ESG Investment Team is a centralised resource of 22 people that is dedicated to ESG analysis and engagement and available to all asset classes. The team has a number of functions including: quality assurance and consistency of the ESG regional analysts’ research and analysis, the consideration of governance issues, highlighting themes and emerging risks in ESG, consultation and support to all of ASI’s asset classes on ESG issues, and reflection and promotion of ASI’s positions on key ESG issues externally.

In addition, we have dedicated ESG analysts and ESG expertise embedded within asset-class teams to ensure the greatest integration of ESG factors within investment decisions, who sit on the regional equity, real estate and fixed income desks.

Furthermore, our proxy voting team, based in Edinburgh, is also part of the ESG Investment Team and manages ASI’s proxy voting approach, which is an integral part of our overall stewardship function.

The central team and asset specific ESG investment analysts are listed below:

Core team members

• Euan Stirling: Head of Stewardship and ESG Investment (Edinburgh), (18 years at Firm, 23 years in Industry)
• Amanda Young: Global Head of Responsible Investment (Edinburgh), (5 Years at Firm, 21 years in Industry)
• Jamie Govan: Senior Manager ESG – Clients (Edinburgh), (11 years at Firm, 11 years in Industry)
• Katy Grant: Senior Manager ESG Investment - Research (Edinburgh), (7 years, at Firm, 7 years in Industry)
• Bill Hartnett: Stewardship Director (London), (<1 year at Firm, 24 years in Industry)
• Andrew Mason: Senior Manager – Stewardship (Edinburgh), (6 years at Firm, 13 years in Industry)
• Elizabeth Meyer: ESG Investment Analyst (Edinburgh), (5 years at Firm, 5 years in Industry)
• Eva Cairns: Senior ESG Investment Analyst (Edinburgh), (8 years at Firm, 13 years in Industry)
• Claire Leighton: ESG Investment Analyst (Edinburgh), (8 years at Firm, 14 years in Industry)
• Ziggy You: ESG Investment Analyst (Edinburgh), (<1 year at Firm, 6 years in Industry)
• Stuart Riddick: ESG Investment Analyst (Edinburgh), (<1 year at Firm, <1 year in Industry)
• Danielle Welsh-Rose: ESG Investment Director – APAC (Edinburgh), (<1 year in Firm, 18 years in Industry)
• Mike Everett: Stewardship Director Policy & Voting (Edinburgh), (21 years at Firm, 33 years in Industry)
• Alison Kennedy: Stewardship Director (Edinburgh), (13 years at Firm, 34 years in Industry)
• Rachel Rotheram: ESG Investment Analyst (Edinburgh), (<1 year at Firm, 1 year in Industry)
• Ben Holden: ESG Investment Analyst (Edinburgh), (3 years at Firm, 3 Years in Industry)
• Douglas Wilson: Senior Manager – Stewardship (Edinburgh), (19 years at Firm, 26 years in Industry)
• Joanna Sulc: Senior Manager - Stewardship (Edinburgh), (3 years at Firm, 15 years in Industry)
• Nick Duncan: Senior Manager - Stewardship (Edinburgh) (3 years at Firm, 21 years in Industry)
• Zander Reid: Strategic Business Development Manager (Edinburgh), (8 years at Firm, 8 years in Industry)
• Kathleen Dewandeleer: Stewardship Manager (Edinburgh), (<1 year at Firm, 27 years in Industry)
• Eilidh Duncan: Sustainable Investment Product Analyst (Edinburgh),(<1 year at Firm, 1 year in Industry)

Equity specific resource

• Fionna Ross: Senior ESG Investment Analyst (Philadelphia), (11 years at Firm, 11 years in Industry)
• Jerry Goh: Investment Manager (Singapore), (3 years in Firm, 3 years in Industry)
• Rosie French: ESG Analyst (London), (3 years in Firm, 3 years in Industry)
• David A Smith: Head of Corporate Governance – Asia (Singapore), (7 years at Firm, 12 years in Industry)
• Peter Silver: ESG Analyst (Edinburgh), (12 years at Firm, 13 years in Industry)
• Daniel Ng: Investment Analyst (Singapore), (1 year at Firm, 1 year in Industry)
• Fraser Harle: ESG Analyst (London), (>1 year at Firm, 2 years in Industry)

Source: Aberdeen Standard Investments, 31 May 2020

*includes continuous service

Literature

• Fund overview & literature (including factsheet)
• Pension Fund factsheet

Last amended: 06/03/24 12:11