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The Evolution of Investor Stewardship: Investor Views on What’s NOT in Company Financials and Why It’s So Valuable

In recent decades, institutional investors have greatly expanded their assessment of risks and opportunities at both the company and portfolio levels to go beyond a narrow analysis of financial statements such as the balance sheet and income statement. Through frameworks variously referred to as corporate governance, intangible value analysis, and increasingly, investor stewardship, this type of inquiry allows the investor to gain a wider perspective on what drives returns. Over the past decade, the consideration of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors has also fallen into this category.

At its core, this expanded assessment allows fiduciaries to perform due diligence and assess issues before they become problematic to company operations, as well as better understand the drivers of growth and value creation. Examples include evaluating the qualifications of a company’s board to ensure a prudent mix of expertise, analyzing how a company treats its workers to maximize productivity and gain access to the best available talent, and engaging with companies to determine how environmental pressures translate into financial risks and opportunities.

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