BCV has subscribed to Ethos’s shareholder engagement services, marking an important step forward in its efforts to dialogue with the companies in its investment funds and discretionary management portfolios. Ethos carries out long-term, constructive dialogue with companies in order to encourage them to improve their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices.
In all, eight banks and asset managers, including several other cantonal banks, have signed up for Ethos’s engagement services. Shareholder engagement is a key approach used in socially responsible investing, along with exercising voting rights at the general meetings of investee companies. It is also one of the nine principles of active ownership listed in the “Swiss Stewardship Code,” a set of guidelines published in 2023 by the Asset Management Association (AMAS) and Swiss Sustainable Finance (SSF).