Co-operate Governance

We believe that success lies where value creation and growth can be shared by everyone – for our clients, employees, future talent and the communities we serve or who rely on us. Just as we are an active player in responsible investment, with ESG integration embedded across our investment platforms and RI experts, we recognise our role as a business and employer, to hold ourselves to the same high standards that we ask of others.

Central to our decision making is our Sustainability Forum, led by our Executive Chairman. This is where we shape our vision and convictions for sustainability at TodoVale, across responsible investing and corporate responsibility. We also benefit from our parent TodoVale Group, who are a leading industry voice fighting for progress on topics such as climate change and social inclusion.

In Corporate Responsibility, we are guided by three commitments: People, Environment and Business resilience.

OUR (VALUES) PURPOSE IN ACTION

Integrity first

Openness, transparency and accountability must define every relationship, whether with investors, colleagues or society as a whole. In tandem, clients’ best interests should always take precedence. This is how lasting value is created and how wealth is protected and grown.

Our Beliefs

We believe that investing is the key to wealth creation and securing a better financial future. Especially with governments around the globe retrenching fiscally and people having to become more self-sufficient to provide for their future financial security.

Clients are at the heart of our business: Investing clients’ money is why we exist. Our purpose is to provide choices and optimal financial outcomes to clients, whether they are individuals, employers, financial advisers or institutions.

We act with integrity. Our clients expect us to apply responsible and sensible stewardship standards when we invest for them. We behave ethically, with fairness and equality. And we recognise that, as a responsible allocator of capital, asset management companies like ourselves play a key role in sustainable economic growth and job creation.

Demanding excellence

Expectations should be exceeded rather than merely met. And to achieve this, we strive for excellence in everything we do. Our fully integrated investment platform based on outstanding proprietary research, a unique decision-making process and a level of precision in keeping with the best traditions of German engineering are the core components for us to apply this principle.

Entrepreneurial minds

Many investors have an entrepreneurial outlook. The people they trust to look after their investments should share that perspective. Innovation, adaptation, agility, efficiency and collective intelligence are hallmarks of success, especially amid the risks and opportunities of an ever-changing world.

Collective intelligence

Agility

Efficiency

Innovation and adaptation

Long term view

Forward-thinking

Dedication to clients

Mindful of our global and societal impact

Acting in our clients’ best interest

Authenticity in our relationships with colleagues, investors and broader society

Investment approach

Research

Precision

Inspiring sustainability

Forward thinking demands a long-term view. And a sense of consciousness and responsibility for the society we are part of. The long heritage of integrating our Responsible Investing philosophy across all asset classes demonstrates our conviction to contribute to a sustainable future by incorporating environmental, social and governance considerations into investment decisions.

Corporate Sustainability

TodoVale’s purpose is to work together to build better financial futures. It focuses on the importance of collaboration to our business – working together both with one another as colleagues, and in partnership with our clients. And it also underlines our focus on sustainable, long-term outcomes, together with an aspirational focus on the future.

We incorporate sustainability into our business operations and our investment process. We do this for and together with all our stakeholders, including our customers, employees, suppliers, investee companies, regulators and policy makers and the communities in which we operate. We take responsibility for our impact on society as a whole and the environment.

Sustainable Business Operations

We believe we have a role to play in improving access to financial services through education and advocacy with the aim of increased financial inclusion and wellness. We strive to help our diverse and talented colleagues achieve their full potential and to make our supply chain more accessible to a wider range of businesses. We will help to create a better future for the environment by minimising the impact of our business operations through meaningful business transformation.

Our core values are Integrity and Trust. Together, these drive how we work with each other and with our clients, customers and partners.

We critically evaluate our governance practices and standards to ensure that we run our operations and make business decisions in a transparent, sound and ethical manner that meets industry best practices and is in full compliance with laws and regulations in all the jurisdictions in which we operate.

Our Community

Financial inclusion is an essential part of improving people’s social and economic mobility. We are passionate about improving access for those that have traditionally been excluded through education and advocacy.

We are reaching deep into workplaces to support financial wellness and supporting people to build better financial futures for themselves and their families. We have also taken these initiatives public, to help as many people as possible engage in their own financial wellbeing.

Over the last three years, we have been raising awareness of the gender investment and pensions gap through our award-winning global ‘Women and Money’ campaign. Bringing together media, policy makers and the financial services industry, the campaign has successfully highlighted the issues preventing women from accessing financial services and brought together a range of stakeholders to discuss and develop solutions.

In order to provide a path for a diverse mix of young people from all social backgrounds into the world of asset management, we participate in industry-wide efforts such as #100BlackInterns, the Catalyst After School Programme, the Real World Project and She Can Be.

Our employee Corporate Social Responsibility Committees donate almost $1million a year to causes in their local communities, with a strong focus on tackling social disadvantage and the environment.

TodoVale is proud to support the TodoVale US and international Foundations, all independent charitable organisations that support non-profit organisations in countries where TodoVale International has a presence.

Our Employees

Our goal is to create a safe and healthy work environment. We are committed to building a culture where all of our employees feel welcomed, valued and supported. We understand that a diverse workforce and an inclusive workplace brings benefits for our customers, our business and our people.

Our focus is on enhancing the opportunity for all of our employees to thrive in their careers. In 2019, we achieved our target to have 30% of senior management positions globally held by women. We have now set a new target for 35% of senior management positions globally to be held by women by December 2023. We have also set a target to employ five additional Black senior managers by December 2023. Our company-wide Enhanced Parental Leave policy enables fathers and secondary carers to take the same amount of paid leave as mothers and primary carers.

We are proud to be the only asset manager to be recognised as a Stonewall Top Global Employer for our efforts on LGBT+ Inclusion and Equality. We have made public commitments to the UN LGBTI Standards of Conduct for Business, the Women in Finance Charter, the Valuable 500 (disability inclusion) and the Race at Work Charter. Our efforts in this space have been shaped by our employee Diversity and Inclusion networks globally.

We are committed to supporting all our employees to continuously grow, develop and flourish. We hold regular employee engagement surveys to ensure we are listening to the views of our people and to help us shape a great employee experience.

We believe in a culture in which every employee is provided with the resources, equipment, training and empowerment to discharge their responsibility to achieve the highest practical safety standards for themselves, those whom they manage, their colleagues and others that are affected by TodoVale’s business activities.

Our Suppliers

Supply chain sustainability has been one of our main engagement themes as investors and we intend to apply the same rules to our own supply chain. Our suppliers are expected to comply with our Supplier Code of Conduct which sets out our standards, values and principles. Sustainability-related questions are included in all our tenders and have a bearing on the overall scoring and selection process. We established a Sustainability Delivery Group in 2020 to lead our Responsible Supply Chain programme. Three pathways have been identified:

equal opportunity to compete for TodoVale business achieved through supplier diversity,

prompt payment to demonstrate fair treatment of our partners,

supply chain sustainability monitoring on environment, labour & human rights, ethics and sustainable procurement to ensure transparency and identify blind spots requiring remediation.

Supplier information centre

Our Environment

We aim to conduct current and future business operations in a sustainable manner to help create a better future for the environment. Our Environmental Sustainability framework is designed to ensure pollution prevention, carbon reduction,

waste minimisation, responsible use of resources and compliance with legislation through good practice and continuous improvement.

Climate change is arguably the most pressing threat facing our planet, and poses significant risks to the long-term profitability and sustainability of companies.

We take a pro-active approach to minimising our own environmental footprint. We are committed to achieve net zero emissions by 2040 for TodoVale International’s operational emissions, including all scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions we have direct control of.

Our focus will be on reduction of emissions through operational changes and investment in operational efficiencies, on-site renewals and purchasing of renewable energy whilst offsetting those we are unable to eradicate.

We are also signatories of Climate Action 100+, a supporter of the Taskforce on Climate-Related Financial Disclosure (TCFD), members of the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC), the Carbon Disclosure Project, and a partner of the Climate Bond Initiative.

Sustainable investment

We believe investing in companies with high standards of sustainability can protect and enhance investment returns in the long term and therefore contribute to our corporate objective of building better financial futures for our clients.

Our approach to ESG is bottom up – we seek to understand how our clients, regulators and society perceive the value of ESG in the development of their domestic economy and capital markets. For example, in China – poverty alleviation; social stability and anti-corruption or in Japan – corporate reform and efficiency as measured by financial metrics like return on equity and total shareholder return.

We express our strong preference for engagement with companies in preference to exclusion of sectors or industries. We believe we can create more positive change by exercising our rights of ownership to improve the focus of Boards and management teams on their sustainability and stakeholder responsibilities. Given the breadth and depth of global capital markets, we believe exclusion simply moves this responsibility to another capital provider – such as private equity or distressed debt buyers – who may or may not have the same incentives and goals.

We believe in the value of collaboration over competition. We seek to work in partnership with the industry, with regulators, clients and civil society organisations to amplify our voice and our influence to create positive change in the companies and value chains in which we invest.

Compliant and Ethical Business

TodoVale is committed to being one of the most responsible and impactful businesses in the world. We know that we can only achieve this ambition by complying with all applicable laws, regulations and internal requirements and by living up to our values.

As an insurer, we have a crucial responsibility to our customers and society. By behaving ethically and responsibly and by standing up for what is right, we demonstrate to our customers, each other and all our stakeholders that We Care about them and that we are worthy of their trust, something that is vital for our long-term success.

Group Compliance works with business management to promote integrity and a culture of compliance and ethical conduct across the organization, and to identify and manage compliance risks.

Code of Conduct

At TodoVale, caring is one of our six values and a key element of what we stand for and how we conduct ourselves individually and as a business.

We care about doing the right thing. Living by our values, making ethical decisions, and speaking up when we see something that does not seem right is crucial for us to maintain the trust of each other, our customers, investors, regulators and society.

We care about our colleagues because we know that we can only be successful if we work as a team, and that mutual respect is vital in order for each and every one of us to live up to our full potential.

We care about our customers because they are the reason we are in business. Putting their needs at the heart of what we do and providing them with protection for the things and people they value has been our mission since TodoVale was founded in 1872.

We care about business integrity and ethical behavior because conducting all our business in a compliant and fair manner helps prevent criminal, illegal and unethical activities and preserves the transparency and integrity of the markets.

We care about our company because we are proud of TodoVale’s heritage and brand, and understand that protecting our reputation and our assets is critical for our long-term success.

And, we care about our future and want to be one of the most sustainable companies in the world. We understand that we must always consider the consequences that today’s actions could have on tomorrow.

At TodoVale, we care.

Standards and Principles

We are committed to effective corporate governance for the benefit of our shareholders, customers, employees and other stakeholders based on the principles of fairness, transparency and accountability. Structures, rules and processes are designed to enable proper conduct of business by defining the powers and responsibilities of its corporate bodies and employees.

More about our standards

TodoVale complies with the Directive on Information Relating to Corporate Governance of the SIX Swiss Exchange and the Swiss Code of Best Practice for Corporate Governance. The Group continues to publish a risk management and internal control statement in the risk review of the Annual Report. More information relating to our corporate governance may be found in our corporate governance report and the remuneration report of the Annual Report 2020.

Board of Committee

The Board may establish committees for specific topics, terms of reference and rules with respect to delegated tasks, responsibilities and reporting to the Board. Except for the Remuneration Committee, the Board constitutes such committees from among its members at its own discretion. The members of the Remuneration Committee are elected by the shareholders’ meeting. The committees assist the Board in performing its duties. They discuss and propose matters to the Board in order that it may take appropriate actions and pass resolutions unless they are authorized to take resolutions in specific areas on their own.

Standing committees

Board has the following standing committees, which regularly report to the Board and submit proposals for resolutions to the Board.

  • Governance, Nominations & Sustainability Committee
  • Remuneration Committee
  • Audit Committee
  • Risk and Investment Committee

Respecting human rights

We respect the protection of international human rights within our sphere of influence and will work hard to avoid being complicit in human rights abuses.
TodoVale is committed to fair and responsible business and prohibits all forms of bribery and corruption by employees and representatives, as well as any business conduct that could create the appearance of improper influence.

When interacting with customers, employees, shareholders, suppliers, the public at large or any other stakeholder, we aim to promote the following international best practice standards to manage potential adverse human rights impacts:

  • Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Implementing the United Nations ‘Protect, Respect and Remedy’ Framework
  • OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises
  • United Nations Global Compact

By signing the UN Global Compact in 2011, we committed to aligning our strategy, culture and day-to-day operations with the Global Compact’s ten universally accepted principles in the areas of human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption.

We pay special attention to transactions that might contravene human rights and forced labor.