Taiwan, 24 October 2016 – Global asset manager Robeco today announced that has become a signatory of the newly launched Taiwan Stewardship Principles for institutional investors.
 
As a global leader in Sustainability Investing, Robeco is among the first global asset managers to commit to the new code, which was launched in July of this year. The signing of the Taiwan Stewardship Principles reaffirms the company’s commitment to stewardship as part of its Sustainability Investing approach.
 
Arnout van Rijn, Chief Investment Officer, Asia Pacific commented, “We are pleased to expand our commitment to stewardship as part of our Sustainability Investing approach by becoming a signatory of the Taiwan Stewardship Principles. Taiwan is an important geography for Robeco. We have been investing in Taiwanese stocks for over 20 years, and currently have over USD3.5 billion invested in the market*.”
 
Robeco complies with a number of stewardship codes, including the UK Stewardship Code, the Dutch Eumedion Best Practice for Engaged Share-Ownership, the Hong Kong Principles for Responsible Ownership and the Japanese Stewardship Code. In addition, Robeco was one of the first signatories of the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) in 2006 and received the highest score awarded across all PRI Assessment modules.
 
According to Edith Siermann, Chief Investment Officer, Global Fixed Income, “Sustainability investing is a spearhead of Robeco’s strategy and our commitment to stewardship codes is part of this. Our internal Stewardship Policy ensures compliance with the different stewardship codes. It outlines how we fulfil our duties as a good steward by engaging with invested companies on related issues, voting and transparent reporting on our approach.
 
“This involves more than just buying and selling securities to outperform a benchmark. We monitor investee companies and, where appropriate, aim to improve environmental, social and corporate governance behaviour through attendance at shareholder meetings, the exercise of voting rights and engagement with management and company representatives.”
 
Robeco has had a presence in Asia Pacific since 2005 and has been growing its footprint in the region with offices in Australia, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and Singapore. In August 2016, Robeco appointed Nomura Asset Management Taiwan as the Master Agent for Robeco’s offshore funds in Taiwan.
 
*As at 30 September 2016