Investors are having a larger say in corporate America than ever before, helping to determine how companies should behave as global citizens. As shareholders who actively vote their shares and engage with companies, active owners aim to deliver a positive impact for employees, customers, communities, and the environment at large.
In the upcoming webcast, How Active Ownership Drives Positive Change, Engine No. 1’s Yasmin Dahya Bilger, head of ETFs, and Michael O’Leary, managing director, will discuss the potential positive impacts of active ownership, and how financial advisors can help clients participate in an investment philosophy designed to re-align the interests of Main Street and Wall Street.
Specifically, the Engine No. 1 Transform 500 ETF (VOTE) invests in 500 of the largest public stocks in the U.S. and believes in the power that investors have to bring about change in these companies.
“With VOTE, passive investors have a new opportunity to drive positive impact as active owners. VOTE invests in a portfolio of the 500 largest U.S. publicly traded stocks, allowing you to use your voice to hold companies accountable,” according to Engine No. 1.
The fund tracks the Morningstar US Large Cap Select Index, which follows the largest 500 companies by market cap across all industries and encourages change within the companies by engaging in proxy voting guidelines as well as dialogue with the leadership of each company invested in. In addition, the advisor measures the ESG metrics of the companies by using a wide variety of data including wages, workforce diversity, carbon emissions, land use, and other metrics. The proxy voting guidelines are built around the ESG metrics and apply to all the companies within the fund.
“Engine No. 1 ETFs aim to offer every investor a seat at the table to use their vote and voice to drive value and impact through active ownership,” according to Engine No. 1.
Engine No. 1 explains that active ownership means leveraging investor power to influence board elections and other shareholder votes; holding companies accountable for their environmental, social, and governance commitments; investing to drive value — not divesting; and driving long-term economic value.
“We’ve seen the power of investors to transform companies and made that power the foundation of our ETFs,” according to Engine No. 1.
Financial advisors who are interested in learning more about Engine No. 1 can register for the Thursday, January 27 webcast here.