UTAM is pleased to announce that we have been shortlisted for an International Corporate Governance Network (ICGN) 2020 Global Stewardship Award. These awards recognize individuals and organizations for excellence related to investor stewardship policies and practice.

UTAM is on the shortlist for an ICGN Global Stewardship Disclosure Award, in the category of Asset Owner <£60 billion assets under management (AUM) (about CAD$105 billion). This award is given to investors whose public disclosures provide genuine insight into their stewardship policies and how they have been implemented, and whose approach to transparency and reporting provides a model that others might follow.

In 2020 the awards were open to all asset owners that met certain eligibility criteria, irrespective of their size, location or whether they were members of the ICGN. An independent assessor reviewed all disclosures on the candidates’ websites during May and June and drew up “longlists” of asset managers and owners whose disclosures they thought best met or exceeded the desired standard. The ICGN’s Awards Committee then selected candidates for the shortlists.

The awards program is international, and we are the only Canadian nominee in our category. UTAM is also, by far, the smallest asset owner of the four nominees; the next smallest is almost four times larger. “This shows that significant achievements in responsible investing are possible even with a smaller AUM, if significant time, attention and commitment are applied,” says Daren Smith, UTAM’s President and CIO.

Award winners will be selected by an independent panel of judges and announced at the ICGN Global Virtual Summit, to be held November 4–5, 2020. Hundreds of international governance professionals are expected to attend.

ICGN’s mission is to promote effective standards of corporate governance and investor stewardship to advance efficient markets and sustainable economies worldwide. ICGN is a global authority on high standards of corporate governance and investor stewardship. The organization is led by investors responsible for assets under management in excess of $US54 trillion in 47 countries. This year marks the organization’s 25th anniversary.

UTAM joined the ICGN and endorsed its Global Stewardship Principles, which set out ICGN’s view of best practices in relation to investor stewardship obligations, policies and processes, in February 2020.