STEWARDSHIP STATEMENT

At ARIM, we believe in responsible investment and consider stewardship to be a critical component of our investment philosophy. We are dedicated to maximizing long-term value for our clients, including the common economic, social, and environmental aspects that underpin returns. ARIM believes that proper stewardship is our fiduciary duty, and we are committed to managing the assets we are entrusted with in the best interests of our clients.

We take a holistic approach to ESG integration, incorporating relevant and material ESG factors into our investment research and portfolio management processes. We conduct comprehensive ESG assessment of which the outcome is integrated into our investment decisions, aligning with our commitment to responsible investment and maximizing long-term value for our clients.

Our investment team adopts an active ownership approach, regularly engaging with investee companies to understand their strategies and assess ESG-related factors. Through written queries, meetings, and conversations with the managements, we aim to improve corporate behaviour and promote industry best practices. The engagement activities are recorded, ensuring transparency and accountability in our efforts to maximize long-term value for our clients.

We are committed to upholding high standards of governance for the companies in which we invest, as well as maintaining our own standards of responsible investment practices. To ensure the success of our ESG initiative, we have established governing and operating committees to oversee the implementation and monitoring of our ESG policies. Through this robust system of oversight and accountability, we strive to promote industry-leading corporate governance best practices and maximize long-term value for our clients.

ARIM believes that proxy voting is part of our active ownership approach. We exercise our proxy voting rights in line with the best interests of our clients. We follow a principle-based approach and consider all voting decisions according to our Voting Policy.

ARIM is a signatory of the Malaysian Code for Institutional Investors (MCII).

Malaysian Code for Institutional Investors (MCII)

The Malaysian Code for Institutional Investors was introduced in a joint effort by the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) and the Minority Shareholders Watch Group (MSWG) based on the SC’s Corporate Governance Blueprint 2011. The code aims to enhance the responsibility of institutional investors towards their members and investors.

ARIM is committed to adhere to the six principles of the MCII as set out below:

  • Institutional investors should disclose the policies on their stewardship responsibilities.
  • Institutional investors should monitor their investee companies.
  • Institutional investors should engage with investee companies as appropriate.
  • Institutional investors should adopt a robust policy on managing conflicts of interest which should be publicly disclosed.
  • Institutional investors should incorporate corporate governance and sustainability considerations into the investment decision-making process.
  • Institutional investors should publish a voting policy.

ARIM is a signatory to MCII effective 12 January 2021.

Links :

Statement of Compliance with the Malaysian Code for Institutional Investors (MCII).

Voting and Engagement Activities 2022

In our role as stewards of our client’s investment, ARIM constantly monitors and provides feedback to companies to promote good corporate governance and corporate sustainability in our investee companies. ARIM does this through engagements with investee companies and voting proxies. We endeavor to exercise our voting rights in the best interests of our clients in line with our fiduciary duty.

In 2022, ARIM voted at 69 shareholders’ meetings on 601 resolutions. Out of the 69 meetings, 74% voted in favour of all resolutions while 26% voted against or abstained on at least one item. In total, ARIM voted “with” management on 545 (91%) resolutions and “Against” or “Abstain” on 56 (9%) resolutions.

Engagement with Investee Companies 2022

ARIM actively engages with its investee company on issues such as strategy, performance, risk, capital structure, sustainability, corporate governance, and other ESG variables. This is aimed at gaining insights and strategies investee companies, communicating our views and concerns as well as advocating change and improvement to maximize the long-term interests of our clients.

A total of 337 engagements have been conducted by our investment team with the senior management of the investee companies in 2022. These engagements include analyst briefings, management meetings and company visits.