How Glass Lewis Helps Investors Meet the UN PRI Principles and Reporting Requirements
As the world’s largest responsible investing initiative, with over 5,000 investor signatories and €130 trillion in assets under management, the UN PRI reporting exercise (closing on July 30th) represents an important undertaking for investors globally. As a trusted partner to the global investment community, Glass Lewis provides solutions that help investors implement these principles — from voting research and custom engagement services to streamlined stewardship tracking and reporting.
With Glass Lewis’ recent acquisition of Esgaia, a leading stewardship management platform, we've enhanced our ability to support investor stewardship across the full lifecycle — from policy and execution to engagement and outcomes measurement.
Principle 1: Integrating ESG into Investment Analysis and Decision-Making
Investor Challenges and Actions
Investors often grapple with the integration of ESG factors into traditional financial analysis, facing challenges such as inconsistent data, varying ESG standards, and the need to align ESG considerations with fiduciary duties. To address these challenges, investors are developing internal ESG frameworks, engaging with ESG data providers, and incorporating ESG metrics into investment models to ensure a holistic view of potential risks and opportunities.
How Glass Lewis Supports Investors
Glass Lewis aids investors in evaluating a broad range of factors through:
- Corporate Governance and ESG Insights: Our research and proxy voting recommendations assist investors in incorporating and benchmarking ESG factors, facilitating more informed decisions alignment with client preferences.
- Controversy Alerts: We highlight key proposals drawing global attention, providing targeted alerts on significant ESG issues to help investors focus on the most critical matters.
Principle 2: Being Active Owners and Incorporating ESG into Ownership Policies
Investor Challenges and Actions
Active ownership requires investors to engage with portfolio companies, which however can be resource-intensive and complex. Challenges include oftentimes limited resources, coordinating engagement efforts, monitoring progress over time, and reporting on practices to stakeholders. Investors are responding by evolving their engagement strategies and governance structures, enhancing technology capabilities to streamline data management and information sharing, and by collaborating more to increase influence.
How Glass Lewis Supports Investors
Glass Lewis empowers investors to scale and streamline stewardship efforts with integrated engagement, technology, and voting solutions:
- Engagement Services: Our stewardship team acts on behalf of clients through our Engagement Program or Custom Engagement Service, helping investors scale stewardship efforts and meet their objectives.
- Technology: Leveraging Viewpoint and the Engagement Management Platform, we offer powerful execution, management, and disclosure tools, enabling investors to centralize the management of both engagement and proxy voting activities.
- Custom and Thematic Voting Policies: Investors can implement proxy guidelines that align with organizational values, investment beliefs and engagement.
Principle 3: Seeking Disclosure on ESG Issues from Investee Entities
Investor Challenges and Actions
Investors often face difficulties in obtaining consistent and comprehensive ESG disclosures from investee companies. Challenges include varying reporting standards, lack of transparency, and limited access to relevant ESG data. To overcome these obstacles, investors are actively engaging with companies to encourage better disclosure practices, participating in initiatives that promote standardized reporting, and utilizing tools to track and analyze ESG information.
How Glass Lewis Supports Investors
Glass Lewis contributes to enhanced transparency through multiple touchpoints:
- Engagement Program and Custom Service: Our engagement efforts help investors communicate expectations to portfolio companies, often aiming to increase disclosure and responsiveness.
- Engagement Management Platform: Investors can independently record and track disclosure-related engagement initiatives and interactions.
- Report Feedback Statement (RFS): Companies can submit responses to Glass Lewis Proxy Paper reports via our RFS program. These responses are published alongside our analysis, allowing investors to review both viewpoints before casting votes.
Principle 4: Promoting Acceptance and Implementation of the Principles
Investor Challenges and Actions
Promoting the acceptance and implementation of the PRI principles across the investment industry can involve challenges such as varying levels of commitment, differing interpretations of ESG integration, and resistance to change. Investors are addressing these challenges by sharing best practices, participating in collaborative initiatives, and advocating for the adoption of responsible investment principles within their networks.
How Glass Lewis Supports Investors
Glass Lewis supports the broader implementation of the PRI Principles through:
- Insight Sharing: We regularly publish research, host webinars, and support working groups focused on best practices in corporate governance and stewardship.
- Partnership Ecosystem: Through partnerships and affiliations with industry groups and other stakeholders, Glass Lewis promote sound value-enhancing practices across the investment ecosystem and value chain.
Principle 5: Working Together to Enhance Effectiveness in Implementing the Principles
Investor Challenges and Actions
Investors increasingly recognize that collective action is critical to tackle ESG issues such as climate change, human rights, and corporate governance reform. To collectively address relevant issues, and to further the implementation of the principles, investors are joining forces through formal coalitions, participating in industry-wide initiatives, and leveraging shared platforms to amplify their voices and impact.
How Glass Lewis Supports Investors
Glass Lewis help investors improve their own stewardship practices and collaboration with others:
- Alignment Between Engagement and Voting: Our integrated tools connect engagement activity and proxy voting records, allowing clients to ensure that decisions reflect — and reinforce — their broader ownership strategies.
- Investor Collaboration Tools: Our stewardship management platform enables collaborative engagement initiatives and shared activity tracking among multiple institutions.
Principle 6: Reporting on Activities and Progress
Investor Challenges and Actions
Reporting on responsible investment practices and progress presents challenges such as data collection, meeting diverse stakeholder expectations, and adhering to various reporting frameworks. Investors are tackling these challenges by implementing proper governance with clear roles and responsibilities, robust processes and workflows, and dedicated technology capabilities.
How Glass Lewis Supports Investors
Glass Lewis makes stewardship and regulatory reporting more efficient and evidence-based:
- Stewardship Reporting Suite: Our platforms enable robust data extraction across engagement and voting records, supporting PRI module alignment and reporting, as well as internal oversight and other disclosures.
- Audit-Ready Records: All proxy voting and stewardship interactions are accessible and can be exported to help simplify reporting workflows and support transparency.
Looking Ahead
Glass Lewis is committed to helping investors meet evolving stewardship expectations — efficiently, credibly, and at scale. Through our technology, expertise, and commitment to transparency, we provide practical tools to support investors in meeting the aforementioned Principles, and through every step of the investment stewardship process.
To discuss how we can support your stewardship strategy, contact us
To learn more about Glass Lewis’ stewardship services, read more here
Read this article on integrating proxy voting and engagement for effective stewardship
