Colonial First State appoints ESG stewardship support

Colonial First State has appointed EOS at Federated Hermes, global stewardship provider, to provide engagement, voting and public policy support for its global equity investments.

The appointment meant EOS would provide ESG support to nine institutions in Australia, representing A$320.5 billion in assets under advice in the region.

Scott Tully, general manager investments, CFS said: “We believe that active ownership, including engagement with and voting on how a company operates its business, leads to better long-term returns for shareholders and hence our customers.

“We look forward to leveraging the knowledge and experience that EOS will bring to our engagement program across global markets and to expanding our advocacy efforts.”

Gary Horton, head of distribution - Australia and New Zealand at Federated Hermes, said: “We look forward to carrying out engagement activities globally on CFS’ behalf that enable it to be a more active owner of its assets, through our dialogue with companies it invests in on environmental, social and governance issues.

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“We look to engage with companies where there is a meaningful issue to resolve and where there is the ability to enact change. Issues could range from diversity on boards or in executive teams, supply chain sustainability issues, or whether plans to address climate change and offset carbon emissions are sufficiently in place.”