Improving Society

Overview

We believe that advancing fairness of social opportunity and narrowing the equality gap can help empower individuals and deliver greater levels of human equity. However, over recent years, we have observed a structural increase in inequality and a widening gap between the goals and delivery of key societal development objectives.

In addressing these issues, we believe the private sector will have a large part to play both as involved corporate citizens and in providing products and  to facilitate improvements in equality of opportunity and equality of outcome. Companies with products that truly make a difference in people’s lives have the opportunity to exploit long-term profit pools generated by true, ongoing societal need. Those that take their responsibility to society seriously and endeavor to treat employees, customers, and the community with respect and dignity may also find they have a competitive advantage over those who do not.

The Martin Currie Improving Society Strategy aims to take advantage of opportunities presented by investing in companies whose products and services positively impact fundamental human needs and create the conditions for advancements in equity. Active ownership is a fundamental tenet of the strategy with structured engagement on company-specific impact goals, sustainability issues and business topics at the heart of the investment process. The strategy leverages Martin Currie’s strong track record within Sustainability thought leadership and business integration and is well-aligned with our corporate purpose of ‘Investing to Improve Lives’.