Stewardship 2026 Outlook

The coming year will bring both challenges and opportunities. Artificial intelligence, the climate transition and the shifting sands of geopolitics will all play an outsize role but in 2026, investor stewardship will increasingly focus on systemic economic risks and opportunities alongside the financial performance of individual investments. For universal owners – those widely invested in the economy with long-term horizons – absolute returns will matter and not just relative performance. This means stewardship needs to extend beyond corporate engagement to include active participation in shaping policy and market best practices that create environments for companies to grasp opportunities sustainably and grow profitably.

Three trends dominate the global economic landscape: artificial intelligence (AI), the climate transition, and geopolitics. Each require distinct approaches:

• Geopolitics: While investors can and should engage companies on supply chain resilience, target markets and operational risk as a result of geopolitics, influencing international political  outcomes at a policy level is outside the remit of investor stewardship. The focus will stay on mitigating individual investment risk without pursuing political agendas.
• Climate Transition: Investors will play a pivotal role in accelerating the shift to low-carbon economies. Engagement will target governments, regulators, and standard setters to implement time-bound policies—such as infrastructure development, blended finance, sector-specific subsidies, workforce retraining, and carbon pricing—that enable companies to invest confidently in transition strategies. Once renewable solutions mature, market forces will sustain profitable growth. Investors should also encourage companies to collaborate across sectors on the development of systematic best practices.
• Artificial Intelligence: AI adoption will reshape industries, enhance the consumer experience, redefine job markets, and raise societal concerns around data privacy and consumer rights. Investors will collaborate with policymakers, sector associations, and corporates to design economic models that safeguard citizens while fostering innovation. This proactive engagement will help minimize economic disruption and unlock long-term value.

Looking ahead, policy and market best practice engagement will become a critical lever for enhancing returns. While corporate engagement will remain central, 2026 will mark a material shift toward addressing systemic issues in alignment with investors’ long-term financial interests. Stewardship will evolve to become more strategic, helping shape the frameworks within which companies and economies thrive.