October 04, 2022

Firm Advancing Incorporation of ESG Principles into Investment Practices as well as Operations

HARTFORD, CT – October 4, 2022 —Leading global investment management firm Conning’s U.S. and London-based investment operations received a five-star (out of five) rating for the four relevant categories in their latest PRI Assessment Report from the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI).* Their operations received a five-star rating for their Investment & Stewardship Policy as well as three fixed income categories -- including Corporates and Securitized Products – in the PRI report, which offers an overarching approach to responsible and transparent investments. 

 

“We are proud of our PRI assessment results as they highlight our strong expertise in fixed income which supports the goals of our institutional clients,” said Woody Bradford, Chief Executive Officer and Chair of the Board of Conning. “We are also pleased that we have maintained such high scores as PRI in 2021 launched a completely new investor Reporting Framework.” 

 

ESG risk is one component of Conning’s assessment of total portfolio risk. The firm has been a signatory to PRI since 2012 and underscored its commitment to incorporating Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors into credit ratings and analysis in a systematic and transparent way by signing the PRI’s ESG in credit risk and ratings statement. In 2020, PRI awarded the firm an ‘A+’ score for its overarching approach to ESG Strategy and Governance.  

 

“Conning is committed to incorporating ESG factors into investment analysis and decision-making processes as they help reveal a clearer assessment of borrowers’ creditworthiness,” said Matt Daly, a Managing Director at Conning and a member of the firm’s Sustainability Leadership Group. Conning’s evaluation framework allows portfolio managers to review and discuss the risks of individual issuers with the firm’s credit analysts. Conning’s primary objective is to optimize overall returns across the portfolio based on clients’ unique guidelines and constraints. 

 

Conning is also integrating sustainability into its operations. For example, in September 2021, Conning achieved CarbonNeutral® company certification through the use of high-quality instruments, in accordance with The CarbonNeutral Protocol and the GHG Protocol Scope 2 Guidance, indicating that the firm’s net greenhouse gas emissions are zero for a defined duration.  In addition, Conning’s London-based subsidiary, Conning Asset Management Limited (CAML) and its affiliate, Global Evolution, are both supporters of the Taskforce on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).

 

A snapshot of Conning’s 2021 PRI Assessment Report and Transparency Report are linked here for additional information.

 

* PRI’s module scoring system shifted from alphabetical grading in 2020 to a numerical grading system ranging from 1 to 5 stars in 2021.

 

Awards, rankings, and other forms of recognition are not a guarantee of Conning's future performance. Awards may not be representative of any one client's experience.

 

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ABOUT CONNING

Conning (www.conning.com) is a leading investment management firm with more than $191 billion in global assets under management as of June 30, 2022.* With a long history of serving the insurance industry, Conning supports institutional investors, including insurers and pension plans, with investment solutions, risk modeling software, and industry research. Founded in 1912, Conning has investment centers in Asia, Europe and North America.

 

* As of June 30, 2022, represents the combined global assets under management for the affiliated firms under Conning Holdings Limited (CHL) and Cathay Securities Investment Trust Co., Ltd. (SITE). SITE is a separate entity under Cathay Financial Holdings Co., Ltd which is the ultimate controlling parent of all Conning entities. The CHL CEO sits on the Board of SITE and helps oversee the business.

 

ABOUT THE PRI REPORTING FRAMEWORK

The PRI Reporting Framework helps to build a common language and industry standard for reporting responsible investing activities. Their assessment reports provide accountability and transparency on signatories’ responsible investment activities and support dialogue within signatories’ organizations, as well as with their clients, beneficiaries and other stakeholders.

 

ESG Disclosures

Clients utilizing ESG investing strategies and/or factors may underperform strategies which do not utilize ESG considerations. ESG strategies may operate by either excluding the investments of certain issuers or by selecting investments based on their compliance with factors such as ESG. These strategies may exclude certain sectors or industries from a client’s portfolio, potentially negatively affecting the client’s investment performance if the excluded sector or industry outperforms. ESG evaluations are subjective by nature, and Conning may rely on analysis and scores provided by third parties in determining whether an issuer meets Conning’s standards for inclusion or exclusion. A client’s perception may differ from Conning’s or a third issuer’s on how to judge an issuers adherence to responsible investing principles.

Environmental, Social, Corporate Governance Considerations – Conning is a signatory to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investing (“UN PRI”) and seeks to align its investment activities with the tenets of the UN PRI. However, Conning does not automatically negatively screen investments based on ESG, unless specified by client guidelines and does not represent that services are “ESG Compliant“ or similar. Clients can continue to hold securities or industries that pose ESG risks.

 

 

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Media Contacts

Myra Lee
Conning
+1 860 299 2278
myra.lee@conning.com

 

Katrin Lieberwirth
Stanton
+1 646 502 3548
klieberwirth@stantonprm.com

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