11 Fund Management Companies Adhere to Amec Stewardship Code in its launch
The Amec Stewardship Code was officially launched by Amec – the Association of Capital Market Investors – during the celebration of its 10th anniversary, on October 27th.
In a strong demonstration of the Code’s alignment with the international trends and best practices, 11 of the country’s largest institutions that invest in the Brazilian market signed the adhesion form, committing themselves to the 7 principles that comprise the Code.
The pioneering signatories include large banks – Banco do Brasil, Itaú, Santander, and Votorantim – international fund management companies – Aberdeen, Hermes, and Cartica – and local independent management companies – Teorema, Leblon Equities, Bridge, and Argúcia.
Additionally, Amec is engaging with other national and international institutions with hundreds of billions of dollars in assets under management that are likely to adhere to the Code in the next weeks.
The strong presence of pension funds’ representatives – including ABRAPP (the Brazilian National Association of Pension Funds) – in the launch event also indicates the interest of this community of investors in the principles comprising the Code.
It’s an auspicious start of one of Amec’s most important initiatives towards the creation of a healthier capital market. The signatories are committing to exercising their fiduciary duties according to the best international practices. They will be an example for other institutions and will reinforce their credibility before investors by defending their interests and ensuring a positive impact of their investments for the society.
Leonardo Pereira, Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Brazil – CVM, delivered the event’s closing speech and complimented Amec and the signatories on their initiative, stating that “thinking about a more solid market that we all want, it’s of utmost importance that the association that represents institutional investors is engaged in discussing, on a positive and organized basis, ways to act based on principles of responsibilities and rights.”
Amec will now focus on creating a working group to prepare the Implementation Manual – a kind of handbook to help signatories comply with the Code’s principles. It will not work as a regulation, but a guide to make the Code more efficient. The signatories will be invited to participate in the group.
