Aviva Investors Case

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AVIVA INVESTORS This case reveals three major challenges for Aviva Investors regarding its engagement strategy as a leader of sustainability-focused asset management sector to incite companies to adopt best practices in terms of corporate governance principles and socially responsible investment (SRI) guidelines. The first challenge highlighted by S. Waygood, the head of Sustainability Research and Engagement at Aviva Investors is how to encourage their clients (portfolio companies) to take further steps in favor of corporate responsibility. The second challenge concerns the stance to embrace regarding unresponsive companies to make them change their policies in accordance to the best business practices promoted by Aviva Investors. Finally, the third challenge is related to the development of Aviva Investors’ approach at an international scale. Aviva Investors’ strategy is to promote long-term sustainability and that could be done only by integrating ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) risks and opportunities into companies’ management. According to Waygood this would be the best way to create and sustain the value of the companies in the long run. In order to convince internally the portfolio companies, Aviva is promoting Materiality for various industries, sectors, and organizations. Waygood’s team is also active with experts to publish research topics that cover the importance of good governance and societal issues for the shareholder’s long term value sustainability. Moreover, the use of means such as public relations, corporate correspondence, direct meetings, and phone calls was a way to inform and educate portfolio companies about criteria and practices Aviva judged crucial for the future. Aviva Investors should continue in this path to spread awareness among investment community about the benefits of ESG approach. However, gathering adequate
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