LONDON, Oct 5 — Legal and General Investment Management (LGIM), one of Europe's largest asset managers, will use its voting power to force top firms to hire more ethnic minorities, it emerged yesterday.
“We have initiated a new engagement campaign that specifically engages FTSE 100 and S&P 500 companies that do not have ethnically diverse directors on the board,” the fund said in a report.
LGIM, which has £1.2 trillion (RM6.45 trillion) in assets under management, explained that “starting in 2022, we will vote against the chair of their nomination committee or the chair of their board if they fail to meet our expectations on ethnic diversity.”
The fund said it was spurred into action by the death in US police custody of African-American George Floyd and the subsequent global protests against discrimination and racial injustice.
But it added that diversity also made financial sense.
“More diverse organisations make better strategic decisions, show superior growth and innovation, and exhibit lower risk — all significant measures for investors," it said.
“Diversity can also help a brand's image and reputation: consumers increasingly expect companies to be both fair and transparent.” — AFP
Source: Malay Mail
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