During engagements, we can ask questions that have emerged from our research efforts. The conversations often bring us a below-the-surface understanding of bond issuers. Engagement is one of our most powerful research tools.
ENGAGEMENT ADDS IMPORTANT INSIGHTS
To better inform our investment decisions and enhance our credit analysis, we engage in direct discussion with bond issuers on ESG issues through an ongoing engagement discipline conducted by our research team.
We also engage with thought leaders and organizations focused on ESG investing and sustainability within sectors and beyond investment markets, to gain insights into trends. The conversations are particularly valuable to us because they can provide deeper insight into the integration of material ESG factors in an issuer’s decision-making, budgeting and operating processes.
We believe engagement provides us with an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of ESG factors that matter most to an industry, sector or an issuer. Engagement enriches credit analysis, combining traditional credit measures and ESG factors with additional insights that naturally flow from an ongoing conversation about important issues.
