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About us

Sustainability: an integral part of our investment process

Aviva Investors believes one of the most important factors influencing a company’s returns is the way a company behaves. Our investment process analyses company behaviour, as we believe a company whose practices are sustainable is more likely to generate better long term returns for its investors.

Sustainability or ESG analysis is a key component of our investment process. Consideration of sustainability factors, together with financial analysis are direct inputs into our investment valuation and portfolio construction process.

Our analysis, also known as sustainability research, may be represented in terms of the following ESG factors.

E
Environmental Sustainability

S
Corporate Social Responsibility

G
Corporate Governance
  • Climate change
  • Greenhouse gas emissions
  • Planning, mitigation
  • Legal and regulatory
  • Systems and risk management
  • Water use
  • Human capital survey
  • Development
  • Equal opportunity
  • Occupational health and safety
  • Community
    • Local
    • Broader
  • Board composition, skills
  • Management track record
  • Remuneration
  • Audit
  • Reporting
  • Risk management

Analysis of these ESG issues helps us better understand the operating risks and opportunities each company faces, as well as their alignment with shareholder interests. We incorporate our examination of these research issues into our valuation and ultimately our portfolios.

Our primary objective is to maximise returns to investors within the scope of the investment guidelines of our funds.

We do not adopt a screening approach. For example, we do not screen out industries such as alcohol or uranium on ethical grounds; rather we assess how companies exposed to the risks associated with the sale of alcohol or uranium are managed. We engage with companies we invest in on an ongoing basis to monitor the management of these risks.

Aviva Investors does not prescribe a specific weight to sustainability considerations in valuing a company. A case-by-case assessment is made as to whether the considerations are potentially material to investment in, and retention and realisation of a particular investment. We will not hold an investment in a company for sustainability reasons alone if we believe that the investment would be inconsistent with our objective of maximising returns to investors.