We’ve been awarded signatory status under the UK Stewardship Code
We’re extremely proud to be awarded signatory status as an asset owner under the Financial Reporting Council's (FRC) UK Stewardship Code, building on the success of Royal London Asset Management (RLAM), which has held signatory status as an asset manager since 2021.
The FRC's UK Stewardship Code is an essential tool to help companies assess themselves against the highest stewardship standards and to identify, drive and embed continuous improvements.
We’re delighted to be recognised for our approach to stewardship and how we integrate this into our decision making as an asset owner. We’re aware of the role we can play and are firmly focused on the positive impact we can have. By using our position, we aim to influence corporate behaviour and work collaboratively with others to make a real-world impact.
Royal London’s approach to responsible investment
To help us make sure that our customers' money is being invested responsibly, we focus on four key areas. We believe this approach also allows us to actively influence the transition to a more sustainable world.
- Stewardship and voting – we ask our asset managers to vote on our behalf to reflect our voting principles.
- Advocacy and engagement – we use our position as a shareholder to positively influence the behaviour of the companies we invest in.
- ESG integration – we integrate environmental, social and governance factors into our investment decision making processes.
- Active management – we actively manage where we invest our customer’s money – so we can adjust our exposure to companies with large carbon footprints or poor social practices, within our Governed Range.
You can find out more by visiting the responsible investment section of our website.
What’s the UK Stewardship Code?
The Code sets high stewardship standards for those investing money on behalf of UK savers and pensioners, and those that support them. The FRC define ‘stewardship’ as the responsible allocation, management and oversight of capital to create long-term value for clients and beneficiaries leading to sustainable benefits for the economy, the environment and society.
The Code comprises a set of 12 ‘apply and explain’ principles for asset managers and asset owners, and a separate set of six principles for service providers.
Royal London’s asset owner 2022 Stewardship Report (PDF) details how we aim to protect the standard of living of this and future generations.