Code for Responsible Investing in SA (CRISA)

Aeon Investment Management applauds the steps being taken to promote ESG issues in the investment decision process. We feel the CRISA code will encourage Institutional investor to become more proactive in aligning with the interest of all stakeholders. Aeon Investment Management supports the final CRISA code and we currently incorporate all the five principles in our investment decisions as outlined below.

Principle 1: An institutional investor should incorporate sustainability considerations, including environmental, social and governance, into its investment analysis and investment activities as part of the delivery of superior risk-adjusted returns to the ultimate beneficiaries.

We believe that an analysis of ESG factors, in combination with fundamental research delivers insight that enhances investment decisions and returns. By incorporating ESG factors we have greater conviction in valuation and risk-reward assessment and we are better able to identify security mispricing. Aeon Investment Management has developed a policy incorporating sustainable considerations into investment decisions on our internally managed assets which all our analysts use as a guideline for integrating ESG issues into investment analysis.

Principle 2: An institutional investor should demonstrate its acceptance of ownership responsibilities in its investment arrangements and investment activities.

Aeon Investment management currently demonstrates ownership responsibilities through proxy voting and engagements with management through letters and/or meetings and presentations. Aeon Investment Management provides a quarterly summary of our voting. View the summary here.

Principle 3: Where appropriate, institutional investors should consider a collaborative approach to promote acceptance and implementation of the principles of CRISA and other codes and standards applicable to institutional investors.

Aeon Investment Management, where appropriate is open to collaborative approaches to promote the acceptance and implementation of the principles of CRISA. One such approach was our public comment on the CRISA draft code. The comment is available on the IODSA website.

Principle 4: An institutional investor should recognise the circumstances and relationships that hold a potential for conflicts of interest and should proactively manage these when they occur.

All Aeon Investment Management employees are CFA institute candidate/ members and are therefore obliged to comply with the CFA Institute’s Code of Good Practice. The CFA code encompasses standards for managing conflict of interest.

Principle 5: Institutional investors should be transparent about the content of their policies, how the policies are implemented and how CRISA is applied to enable stakeholders to make informed assessments.

Aeon Investment Management provides a quarterly summary of our voting. View the summary here.