Responsible investment
We believe that high-quality companies which manage environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks and opportunities well will make attractive long-term investments.
We define responsible investment as a strategy and practice to incorporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors in investment decisions and active ownership. We are a proud signatory of the UN Principles for Responsible Investment, and our definition aligns with theirs. We assess risks and opportunities related to each factor, which may include:
Environment
Greenhouse gas emissions, water and resource use, land use, deforestation, biodiversity, waste
Social
Human rights, community relations, labour relations, child labour, modern slavery, workplace safety, diversity and social supply chain issues.
Governance
Board and management quality, financial reporting, bribery and corruption, data security, remuneration, stakeholder governance.
Our approach
Responsible investment is one of the three pillars of our sustainability framework, alongside Stewardship and being a Responsible Business.
We offer a bespoke, discretionary service to the majority of our clients through investment managers, financial planners, or a combination of the two. We tailor our approach to each client’s individual needs and objectives.
Our approach includes:
ESG integration
We consider ESG factors when evaluating individual companies and fund managers. We use Sustainalytics, a third-party provider of ESG data, to incorporate material risks and opportunities when assessing our ‘buy list’ stocks. We have a dedicated socially responsible investing (SRI) list for funds with a sustainability focus, and with restrictions on investment in harmful activities.
Ethical screening
Clients can choose to apply certain ethical screening criteria to their portfolio. They can select certain restrictions for direct holdings, and portfolios are then created and managed to reflect these restrictions.
Engagement and stewardship
We are committed to being a good steward of our clients’ investments, to enhance and protect their long-term value. For each core holding, we monitor and engage with company management on priority material issues that impact the value of our clients’ assets, including ESG issues.
The RBC Climate Blueprint
The RBC Climate Blueprint is our coordinated enterprise strategy to accelerate clean economic growth and support our clients in a socially inclusive transition to net-zero. Read more here