A WAKEUP CALL FOR CORPORATE LEADERS: INSIGHTS FROM 600 INSTITUTIONAL INVESTORS
What it takes for public companies to pass muster with major investors is changing. Until recently, a laser-like focus on maximising shareholder returns was paramount. No longer.
Today, stock performance and financial returns are increasingly joined by a new set of investment criteria for leading institutional investors. To measure up, most investors agree, companies must address the needs of a wide range of stakeholders and must implement effective environmental, social impact and governance (ESG) practices.
These are among the main findings of our new ‘Trust Barometer Special Report: Institutional Investors’. The study, in its third year, surveyed more than 600 chief investment officers, portfolio managers and buy-side analysts in six countries – the US, Canada, the UK, Germany, the Netherlands and Japan – representing firms that collectively manage about $9 trillion in assets.
The report sheds light on the pivotal issues that shape major financial institutions’ investment choices, as well as what drives investor trust in companies. Beyond stakeholder and ESG issues, investors say that diversity in a company’s board elevates investor trust, and that trust itself is a powerful lever to recruit talent, win customers and enhance share value.
Below are 15 insights from this recent study that provide a roadmap to understand emerging criteria for global investors.
Jan-Mar 2020 Issue
Edelman