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Manulife Investment Management demonstrates significant progress in its annual sustainable and responsible investing report

Singapore (November 18, 2021)—Manulife Investment Management released today its third annual sustainable and responsible investing report for its institutional investment management business. The report demonstrates its ongoing commitment to sustainability, as interest in this area continues to grow across the world.

The report documents significant progress across three key areas of the firm’s sustainability efforts:  ESG integration, active stewardship, and global collaboration to address systemic sustainability issues.

Paul Lorentz, President and CEO at Manulife Investment Management, said: “Our efforts support our clients’ aims and help bolster the environmental and social foundations that enable the global economy to function. Our priority is to continue to expand our sustainable investing capabilities across public and private asset classes to meet our clients’ evolving needs.”

Advancements in sustainability

  • In 2020, Manulife Investment Management had 1,122 engagement interactions with 985 equity and fixed-income issuers globally and launched a proxy voting dashboard to disclose proxy voting records.1 There was a conscious shift in focus from just volume of conversations to outcomes-based engagements to address material sustainability risks.
  • Manulife Investment Management invested further in its sustainability teams, which have grown from 16 to 25 sustainability professionals globally as of 12/31/20.
  • The firm was one of only 20 investment managers included in the 2020 PRI Leaders’ Group in recognition of advanced efforts in climate reporting.
  • Building on its advanced ESG integration efforts across asset classes, the firm expanded its sustainability offering through the launch of a number of strategies with specific sustainability objectives and made a significant impact-first timberland investment that will primarily be used for carbon sequestration and storage.2

Brian Kernohan, chief sustainability officer, private markets, comments: “Our purpose as an asset manager is to deliver strong risk-adjusted investment returns for our clients over time while having a positive impact on the environment and society through strong stewardship. We believe a commitment to sustainable investing is necessary for investors to be successful.”

Peter Mennie, global head of ESG integration and research, public markets, concludes: “We are proud of our contributions in pursuit of more sustainable business practices across the globe. We believe integrating all elements of sustainable investing into our conversations with company management, and using measurable data points to demonstrate progress, can help mitigate the impact of material sustainability risks in our portfolios and is aligned with the best interests of our clients over the long term.”

Since becoming a PRI signatory in 2015, Manulife Investment Management has enhanced its sustainability practices across asset classes and deepened its involvement in initiatives addressing global sustainability challenges.

Read more about the Manulife Investment management 2020 sustainable and responsible investing report