Dundas Global Investors ESG Summary
Dundas invests globally for long run dividend and capital growth. We have always focused on the benefits of companies able to grow their dividend sustainably. Those companies have desirable attributes for investors that parallel strong ESG conduct.
ESG analysis is integrated into our investment process by including ESG criteria in stock research, company engagement, investment decisions, and portfolio monitoring. Analysis draws on publicly available information, financial data via Bloomberg, and third-party ESG metrics and research.
The financial implications of ESG issues come to light in the long term and can either enhance or detract from the Dundas Ratio, the long-term growth rate we envision for a company. The Dundas Ratio is the core of our discipline for investment decision making – by integrating ESG criteria we aim to mitigate risk and participate in opportunities.
Sustainability is embedded in our practices, from our partnership model to co-investing with our clients. Fees call into question the sustainability of our industry – our operating costs are kept low, passed on to clients through competitive fees.
We believe that by investing sustainability whilst upholding the same philosophy that the firm has held from the outset, we can achieve the best results for our clients.
The Heriot Global Fund has a Morningstar 5 Globe sustainability rating.
Investment strategy
- Good business is good investment
- Selective investors, not universal owners, avoiding 98% of the stocks available globally, and many of the avoided / excluded fall on what are today called ‘ESG criteria’
- Independent judgement on the intersection of wealth generation, returns and unacceptable corporate conduct
- Confidence that the best outcomes arise from the rule of law, human ingenuity, competition and decency.
Affiliations & research services
- UK Stewardship Code
- UN Principles of Responsible Investment
- ISS for proxy voting support
- MSCI ESG Research & Ratings for stock reports
Open questions
- The accelerating ESG bandwagon, with the risk of what Orwell would recognise as groupthink
- Soon companies that don’t proclaim their ESG virtues will be the exception – what happens when everyone is ‘above average’?