The international business of Federated Hermes was recently assessed by Real Impact Tracker, which certifies institutions most committed to Impact, and achieved the highest score in the history of its certification.
As a result, the firm has joined Real Impact Tracker’s certified community, for which around only 5 to 10 per cent of fund managers are eligible to qualify.
Real Impact Tracker has developed an open sourced, academically rigorous methodology on impact which considers investment strategy, financial performance, intensity of shareholder engagement as well as advocacy and public awareness raising efforts. It also provides a culture score on financial institutions and gap analysis assessments, for which the international business of Federated Hermes excelled.
Real Impact Tracker identified the firm as a leader in creating impact throughout its operations, investment process, corporate engagement and its policy and advocacy. In particular, the firm’s philosophy and approach to stewardship was highlighted as the model for other firms looking to improve their active ownership.
In achieving the grade ‘A’ score, the international business of Federated Hermes was commended for listening and contributing to academic research to determine to importance of ESG factors in the investment process and to establish the best approach to create impact on behalf of its clients.
The firm’s leadership and collaboration in a number of responsible investment organisations such as Climate Action 100+ was also noted.
Saker Nusseibeh, CBE, CEO of the international business of Federated Hermes says: “Responsible investment has been at the core of the firm for over three decades. The outcome of this assessment clearly mirrors the depth of our expertise and highlights our position as leaders in this field. Our employees are passionate about driving sustainable wealth creation and I am proud of everyone at Federated Hermes who has enabled us to achieve such high standards and receive this outstanding rating.”
