New forum for long-term investors launched

The Investor Forum has been launched by the Collective Engagement Working Group, a body set up following the Kay Review of the equity market and long-term investing. It is intended to promote long-term investment strategies and sustainable wealth creation among asset owners, asset manager and companies.

The forum is planned to be active by June 2014 and has secured funding for at least two years from investors and trade associations. It will also operate Engagement Action Groups which will seek positive results when there are shared concerns about a particular company, and will aim to drive a cultural change in favour of long-term stewardship and engagement by institutional investors. One such change could be annual strategy meetings at major listed companies, where investors and company executives can links governance to the long-term corporate strategy, with less focus on short-term results.

James Anderson, partner at Baillie Gifford and chair of the Collective Engagement Working Group, said: “This report is a concerted and enthusiastic response by asset managers and asset owners to the Kay Review’s recommendations. We insist that improvements in the collective engagement process are not a chimera. They are feasible with consistent and long-lasting effort. Ultimately these improvements can contribute to increased wealth creation by companies and for savers. We must be consistently engaged rather than occasionally outraged or so often apathetic”. NAPF chief executive, Joanne Segars, was among those welcoming the new group, saying: “The NAPF has long been an advocate for a constructive ongoing dialogue between investors and the companies in which they invest, to achieve better outcomes for long-term investors such as pension funds.”