Meta Platforms case study
Over the course of our engagement on data privacy and safeguarding policies, we encouraged the company to more clearly outline the steps it would take to solve the issues, and for its quarterly reporting to include information on how it is improving data privacy. We also relayed our concerns with the dual-class share structure and […]
Public Engagement Report Q3 2023
Fast reading A failure to protect Indigenous Peoples’ rights can expose a company to business, legal and reputational risks As generative AI tools proliferate, the biases they sometimes reflect may perpetuate stereotypes and stall progress towards greater equality The number of climate-related shareholder resolutions rose in developed Asia and emerging markets this voting season Indigenous […]
The Responsibility Office: Supporting sustainable wealth creation
At Federated Hermes Limited, we believe the purpose of investment is to create wealth sustainably for investors over the long term. Sustainable wealth creation should provide investors with income to spend as they get older, an ability to buy goods and services, and help to build a world in which investors are happy to live. […]
The COP conundrum
We need only take a cursory check of global weather in recent months to remind ourselves of the consequences of climate change. Over the summer, record temperatures in parts of the US, in southern Europe and in China affected the lives of an estimated 110 million people who regularly experienced temperatures above 40°C. In May and […]
Spectrum Q3 2023: No robots were harmed in the making of this report
In a 1962 collection of short stories, sci-fi sage Arthur C Clarke postulated his third law, that “any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic”. Now, as we push through the second decade of the 21st century and into a future seemingly set up for AI, Clarke’s law appears more apt than ever. Through the […]
Investor dissension mounts as temperatures rise
Shareholders continued to call for change at companies this year, bringing a raft of proposals in the US and Europe on collective bargaining rights, climate lobbying, child safety in the digital realm, animal welfare, racial equity and tax transparency. Executive compensation also came under scrutiny as the cost of living crisis continued. Meanwhile, as Europe […]
Japanese reforms ignite investor optimism
Shareholder activism has been on the rise in Japan over the last few years, as institutional investors have grown increasingly frustrated with some companies’ poor governance practices and the slow pace of change. High-profile scandals, such as that at Toshiba, have heightened the pressure on companies to be more responsive to shareholders. Now an update […]
Public Engagement Report Q2 2023
Fast reading Widespread use of synthetic pesticides to protect crops and boost yields poses risks to the environment and human health How the latest Japanese corporate governance reforms can help drive shareholder value Climate lobbying, collective bargaining and tax transparency among the issues addressed by shareholder proposals this voting season Chemicals and pesticides have been […]
Federated Hermes Stewardship Report 2022
This year’s report now features the stewardship activities of our infrastructure and private equity investment teams. Monitoring engagement outcomes is crucial in ensuring our approach is effective and achieves the desired results. As such, this report contains new and updated examples and case studies throughout to demonstrate how our approach works in practice. In our […]
Counting the cost of the climate crisis
Investor groups and standard-setters have called on companies to follow best practice guidelines and fully reflect climate-related risks in their financial statements. That means companies should disclose how climate change and decarbonisation commitments are being captured in their accounting assumptions and judgements. Are their accounts aligned with a 1.5°C world, as set out in the […]
