SUSTAINABILITY | Salt Funds

SUSTAINABLITY AT SALT

As an active manager, Salt’s core objectives are to manage client funds in a way that doesn’t do significant harm, use its position as a shareholder to encourage and support companies to do better, and where possible, do good while continuing to deliver strong returns to our clients.

Read more about our investment philosophy and how we integrate ESG considerations into our investment process below:

SALTS RESPONSIBLE INVESTMENT POLICY

Through active management, stewardship, innovation, and sustainable leadership, we can deliver more sustainable returns in the long term while activating positive change to support a faster transition for the benefit of generations come.

Read more about the efforts of Salt and our underlying managers on the link below:

SALT'S SUSTAINABILITY REPORTS

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The Aotearoa New Zealand Stewardship Code was introduced in 2022 as a framework consisting of nine core principles governing the incorporation of effective stewardship within the investment process.

As a founding signatory, Salt is a proud supporter of the code and is committed to continuously improving our capital allocation and governance practices to contribute towards sustainable ESG outcomes.

Read our stewardship policies on the links below:

SALT'S ENGAGEMENT POLICY

SALTS'S PROXY VOTING POLICY

Read our reporting on the links below:

SALT'S VOTING REPORTING

SALT'S ENGAGEMENT REPORTING

Salt is a long-standing signatory to the United Nations-sponsored Principles of Responsible Investment (PRI)

We have observed the growing number of signatories globally to PRI. We are encouraged by the movement of investors to support the six principles of responsible investment, directing capital to do better. Along with the PRI, other initiatives and frameworks help companies, investors, and communities streamline efforts to assess risks and opportunities appropriately and formulate strategies to mitigate and adapt to transition to not only a low carbon economy, a sustainable economy.

The following ‘scorecard’ presents a summary of Salt’s publicly available transparency report reviewing our responsible investment practices for 2023.

MODULE	STARS	SCORE
Confidence Building Measure	★★★★	100%
Direct - Hedge Funds - Long/Short Equity	★★★★★	91%
Direct - Listed Equity - Active fundamental	★★★★★	96%
Investment & Stewardship Policy	★★★★★	92%

Salt supports the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Salt supports the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and believes it can positively contribute to achieving these goals, both operationally and through it’s investment process.

The SDGs are an articulation of the world’s most pressing sustainability issues and act as the globally agreed sustainability framework.

The 17 goals cover all aspects of development, from affordable and clean energy to good health to eradicating poverty and hunger.

While we support the achievement of all SDGs, we believe the following are where we can make the greatest contribution from our business operations:

Through our sponsorships and partnerships:

Salt contributes to the following SDGs:

The TCFD introduced recommendations for climate-related financial disclosure to support informed capital allocation by improving the quality of information disclosed by companies that is essential in assessing their climate-related risks and opportunities.

Salt is a signatory of these recommendations and supports the TCFD’s goals of encouraging their widespread adoption and improving market transparency.

Salt is recognised as a Responsible Investment Leader 2024 by the Responsible Investment Association Australasia (RIAA).

This acknowledges our commitment to responsible investing; our explicit consideration of environmental, social and governance factors in investment decision-making, our strong and collaborative stewardship; and our transparency in reporting activity, including the societal and environmental outcomes being achieved.

Morgan Stanley Investment Management (‘MSIM’) is appointed as the investment manager for the following funds:

SALT SUSTAINABLE GLOBAL SHARES FUND

SALT SUSTAINABLE GLOBAL FIXED INCOME OPPORTUNITIES FUND

Over the 12-month period from July 2022 to June 2023, the MSIM investment teams conducted over 160 engagement meetings with selected bond issuers, continuing to focus on the theme of decarbonisation and adoption of science-based emissions reduction targets. Nevertheless, macroeconomic issues such as the Russia Ukraine conflict and its implications for energy security, inflationary pressures and the rising cost-of-living around the world led to a growing focus on social inclusion, labour & human rights, and good governance.

2023 ESG engagement activity and outcome

Cohen & Steers (CNS) is appointed as the investment manager for the following funds:

SALT SUSTAINABLE GLOBAL LISTED INFRASTRUCTURE FUND

SALT SUSTAINABLE GLOBAL LISTED PROPERTY FUND

Cohen & Steers typically engage with portfolio companies, regulators, public policymakers, underwriters and industry organizations to address issues such as: environmental and social practices that could result in reputational and financial risk or enhance business operations. These commonly include topical issues such as climate change risk, human capital management, diversity and inclusion and community impact.

Governance issues, which include corporate governance structure, board composition and director independence, as well as:

Capital structure and allocation decisions
Compensation practices
Protection of shareholder rights Improved transparency and disclosure
Weak or disruptive government and regulatory interventions.

2023 ESG engagement activity and outcome