What does it actually take to move a system? In this episode of Risk, Return & responsibility Caroline Escott, Head of Investment Stewardship and Co-Head of Sustainable Ownership at Railpen, joins us to explain how one of the UK's largest pension schemes turns its position as a universal owner into influence, and why every bit of that work begins and ends with financial outcomes for members.

 

We cover the trustee mandate and investment beliefs that frame Railpen's priorities; the three pillars of its Sustainable Financial Markets agenda, namely shareholder rights, board effectiveness and external audit; and the practical craft of stewardship, from picking the jurisdictions and systemically important companies where influence travels furthest, to the under appreciated discipline of audit. Caroline is candid on the mechanics of investor coalitions, including the antitrust caution now shaping behaviour in the United States, and on the Investor Coalition for Equal Votes, the $4.5tn group Railpen co founded and chairs, as it engages founder led firms long before they reach the market. She closes with a generous, practical guide to public policy engagement for asset owners of every size.

 

A conversation for trustees, heads of DC, scheme managers and provider strategists who want to understand how stewardship earns its place in the return equation.

 

Listen now, and find the full video and our written feature at assetownernetwork.com.