Stewardship Statement
At ARIM, we believe in responsible investment and consider stewardship to be a critical component of our investment philosophy. We are dedicated to maximizing long-term value for our clients, including the common economic, social, and environmental aspects that underpin returns. ARIM believes that proper stewardship is our fiduciary duty, and we are committed to managing the assets we are entrusted with in the best interests of our clients.
ESG Integration
Engagement & Active Monitoring
Governance and Oversight
Proxy Voting
ESG Integration
We take a holistic approach to ESG integration, incorporating relevant and material ESG factors into our investment research and portfolio management processes. We conduct comprehensive ESG assessment of which the outcome is integrated into our investment decisions, aligning with our commitment to responsible investment and maximizing long-term value for our clients.
ARIM is a signatory of the Malaysian Code for Institutional Investors (MCII).
Malaysian Code For Institutional Investors (MCII)
The Malaysian Code for Institutional Investors was introduced in a joint effort by the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) and the Minority Shareholders Watch Group (MSWG) based on the SC’s Corporate Governance Blueprint 2011. The code aims to enhance the responsibility of institutional investors towards their members and investors.
ARIM is committed to adhere to the six principles of the MCII as set out below:
ARIM is committed to adhere to the six principles of the MCII as set out below:
- Institutional investors should disclose the policies on their stewardship responsibilities and review the effectiveness of their stewardship activities.
- Institutional investors should monitor their investee companies.
- Institutional investors should engage with investee companies as appropriate and collaborate with investors to enhance engagement outcomes.
- Institutional investors should adopt a policy on managing conflicts of interest which should be publicly disclosed.
- Institutional investors should incorporate corporate governance and sustainability considerations, including climate-related matters into their decision-making process while seeking to deliver sustainable returns in the long-term interest of their beneficiaries or clients.
- Institutional investors should publicly disclose their corporate governance policy and voting guidelines.
- Institutional investors should collaborate where appropriate to respond to corporate governance and sustainability concerns or risks. The collective voice and views of institutional investors are important levers in shaping behaviour and promoting good corporate governance, in particular on emerging issues such as sustainability reporting and investing.
ARIM is a signatory to MCII effective 12 January 2021.
Voting and Engagement Activities 2024
Responsible investment is a principle we uphold, and ARIM views active ownership as a fundamental aspect of our investment philosophy. We also regard proper stewardship as a fiduciary responsibility and are unwavering in our commitment to managing entrusted assets in the utmost interest of our clients. Our primary objective is to optimise long-term value, with due consideration for the shared economic, social and environmental factors influencing returns.
An active and informed voting policy is an integral aspect of our direct equity investment philosophy and is core to our active ownership approach. We are supportive of the boards and management of our investee companies. However, when companies consistently fall short of our expectations, we will consider actively promoting changes via proxy voting. By exercising our votes, we seek both to add value and to protect our clients’ interests as shareholders.
In 2024, we actively participated in 67 shareholders meetings, casting votes on a total of 538. Of 67 meetings, 35 (52%) voted in favour of all resolutions while 32 (48%) voted against or abstained on at least one item. In total, ARIM voted "with" management on 482 (90%) resolutions and "Against" or "Abstain" on 56 (10%) resolutions.
An active and informed voting policy is an integral aspect of our direct equity investment philosophy and is core to our active ownership approach. We are supportive of the boards and management of our investee companies. However, when companies consistently fall short of our expectations, we will consider actively promoting changes via proxy voting. By exercising our votes, we seek both to add value and to protect our clients’ interests as shareholders.
In 2024, we actively participated in 67 shareholders meetings, casting votes on a total of 538. Of 67 meetings, 35 (52%) voted in favour of all resolutions while 32 (48%) voted against or abstained on at least one item. In total, ARIM voted "with" management on 482 (90%) resolutions and "Against" or "Abstain" on 56 (10%) resolutions.
Engagement with Investee Companies 2024
ARIM actively engages with its investee company on issues such as strategy, performance, risk, capital structure, sustainability, corporate governance, and other ESG variables. This is aimed at gaining insights and strategies investee companies, communicating our views and concerns as well as advocating change and improvement to maximize the long-term interests of our clients.
