Sustainability
Q&A with a portfolio manager: the role of engagement
Transitioning to a more resilient economy requires more than investing in companies that are leading the way. We believe it’s also important to challenge and engage those making less progress.
Giles Money, CIO Global Sustainability/ SRI explains how engagement supports portfolio management, in the third part of this series of conversations with portfolio managers.
Q: How does engagement drive positive outcomes for your portfolio?
Engagement is central to around 25% of our portfolio outcomes. We work with selected companies on topics such as strategy, communication, pay alignment, resourcing and, where needed, controversy management – all with the aim of improving the value of both the company and our shareholding.
Effective engagement takes time: corporate decisionmaking moves more slowly than markets, so building strong relationships with boards and management requires a long-term commitment.
Q: What are the contributing factors for successful engagements?
Good data and a meaningful shareholding help, but impact depends on preparation and approach. We come to meetings with deep research – on the business itself and its governance – to ensure our asks are grounded and credible.
A recent example is our engagement with a housing products company on product recyclability. With building waste rising on regulatory agendas, firms need to stay ahead of evolving rules. Understanding how a company is preparing helps us identify those positioned to innovate and grow. In this case, our expertise in biodiversity, plastics and governance helped us secure direct access to the firm’s head of sustainability and research and development.
Q. How do you collaborate with your colleagues in the Sustainability Team?
The Sustainability team is integral to our work in portfolio management. Their sector and regional expertise, as well as their strong company networks, allow us to quickly develop informed views and ensure engagements align with client needs.
Colleagues from the Sustainability team often join us at our engagement meetings with target companies, and we have frequent meetings to share learnings with other investment colleagues.
Q. What role does AllianzGI’s Sustainability Insights Engine (SusIE) play?
Engagement without the right data is impossible. Our proprietary data platform, SusIE, provides extensive datapoints – but its value lies in how we contextualise them through qualitative frameworks. This ensures we use the right data for the right client and can tailor our analysis to different objectives.
At the stock-picking level, SusIE gives us a complete, integrated dashboard of what we need to know when researching companies and sectors. In 21 years of running sustainable investments, I find this a very impressive tool.
Read more on active stewardship at AllianzGI
Read all the interviews in this series in our Sustainable Investing and Stewardship Report 2025
