Themed Awards | Stewardship & Engagement: IPE Conference & Awards 2024

Country	Netherlands
Founded	2008
Type	Hybrid multi-employer pension investor
Members	1,232,782 active 997,317 retired 783397 deferred
Assets	€521,000m
Performance	-10% (1yr) 15.01% (3yr) 15.77% (5yr) 16.01% (10yr)

APG prioritises sustainable investments generating favourable outcomes over the long run. It incorporates ESG factors and responsible business practices into its decision-making process, allowing it to effectively manage investment risks and seize opportunities aligning with its clients’ sustainability objectives.

In 2022, APG engaged with 435 listed companies, addressing several ESG issues requiring improvements. It also completed successful engagements in the digital field and in sustainable food for its client ABP. It consistently adheres to the principles outlined in the Dutch Stewardship Code, and in 2022, its responsible investment and stewardship received a four out of of five rating in the Principles for Responsible Investment annual benchmark.

Actively exercising its shareholder rights, APG voted at 5,750 meetings in 2022. Decisions are based on its governance framework, clients’ policies and the Institutional Shareholder Services platform and, when necessary, consultation with stakeholders. Voting activity for individual companies is reported on APG’s website and in 2022 it voted in favour of 73% of 21,247 nomination proposals. Moreover, its significant stakes in private companies enable it to exercise greater influence through strategic controls.

APG’s voting policy for 2022 focused on climate, board diversity and human rights, affecting 2,000 energy and high-impact sector companies. It advocated for dedicated climate board members, clear emission-reduction targets and transparency, supporting climate resolutions and concrete strategies. It also voted against boards lacking diversity and those not meeting the 30% gender diversity threshold. For human rights, it voted against non-compliant board chairs, assessing proposals on racial equity. Policies were also tightened to ensure accountability for digital rights violations. In 2022, significant actions to drive sustainability and responsible practices across its investments included:

HDC Hyundai Development: APG filed the first-ever shareholder sustainability-related proposal in Korea, addressing safety issues after two fatal accidents;
Tesla: APG supported resolutions on workplace harassment, climate lobbying, and freedom of association.

Country	United Kingdom
AUM	€26,800m
Performance	Nest 2040 Retirement Fund (default fund) -3.3 1-year to year end 31 March 2023; 6.2% 1-year to 30 June 2023 / Nest Ethical Fund 3.2% 1-year to 30 June 2023 / Nest Higher Risk Fund 5.7% 1-year to 30 June 2023 / Nest Sharia Fund 14.8% to 1-year 30 June 2023 / Nest Lower Growth Fund 0.5% 1-year to 30 June 2023 (1yr); 6.7% (3yr) 5.7% (5yr) 7.8% (10yr)

Nest favours constructive dialogue based on relationship-building with investee companies and generally avoids actions that can cause harm or volatility to the company. It reviews its voting and engagement policy each year. In 2023 so far, Nest has focused on areas including pay, climate change, natural capital and diversity in the workplace. It voted against the re-election of the then BP chair after shareholders were not given a chance to vote on the company’s scaled-back emissions targets. Nest believes that promoting diversity of gender, ethnicity and thought can improve company performance and reputation, and has challenged big names, including Lloyds Banking Group and IAG, where it has perceived a lack of diversity. It champions the alignment of board remuneration with shareholder interests and votes accordingly.