Schroders : awarded top responsible investment rating from Principles for Responsible Investment for fifth successive year

Schroders is pleased to announce that its commitment to responsible investing has been recognised with the highest accolade for the fifth consecutive year.

The Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), an influential United Nations-backed global investor initiative, has awarded Schroders with an A+ rating for its overall strategy and governance in relation to sustainable investment.

Just 25% of investment managers globally were awarded the A+ rating.

This score entailed Schroders receiving an A+ rating for its approach to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) investing within private equity, an improvement on the A ranking a year ago.

Furthermore, its corporate non-financial approach to ESG fixed income investing also received an A+ rating, also an upgrade on last year's A rating.

Schroders announced on 26 July that it had acquired a majority stake in BlueOrchard, the pioneer in microfinance and impact investing.

Schroders' Institutional Investor Study has found that 74% of investors globally believe that investing sustainably will grow in importance over the next five years,

Jessica Ground, Global Head of Stewardship, Schroders, commented:

'Our continuing focus on responsible investment has been recognised for the fifth year in a row by the PRI. Another A+ ranking demonstrates that, when it comes to our commitment to sustainability, Schroders remains entirely committed to engaging on ESG risks that could prove material for our clients.

'As an active manager, we see sustainable investment as an integral and necessary part of our responsibility. We integrate ESG analysis into our investment processes as it is essential to securing long-term, sustainable returns in a continually changing investment environment for our clients.'

Founded in 2006, the PRI has 2,372 signatories globally, including investment managers, asset owners and service providers, representing $86.3 trillion in assets. Its goal is to encourage investors to incorporate sustainability into their decision-making.

Each year, the PRI's signatories are required to disclose their responsible investment process to the PRI through a detailed reporting framework. This is reviewed and assigned a rating by the PRI.

For further information, please contact:

Estelle Bibby, Head of Media Relations [phone]/[e-mail]

Andy Pearce, PR Manager [phone]/[e-mail]

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