In our ownership policy, we outline how we identify ourselves as an owner, what our expectations are and how we exercise the rights conferred by our holdings. The principles pertain to all direct equity investments and mutual fund investments in Finland and abroad.
Veritas’ updated ownership policy was adopted by the company’s Board of Directors on 20 December 2022. The first ownership policy in line with the amended legislation pertained to the year 2020.
Amendments compared to the 2022 ownership policy
We specified the policy as concerns foreign shares so that 1) we participate also in the Annual General Meetings of those companies to the extent possible, usually by proxy and that 2) we publish an annual account on our website of the implementation of the ownership policy and of our voting behaviour at the Annual General Meetings of all listed companies. We additionally relay that we regularly meet with the management of the companies we own, particularly in companies where we have a substantial holding.
It is our task as a pension insurer to manage the statutory pension security and to invest pension assets seeking the highest return possible, within the confines of an acceptable risk level. This allows us to shoulder our responsibility as part of the Finnish pension system.
The objective of our investment activities is to secure the funding of the pension system in the long-term. The good governance of our holdings secures the long-term return of the investments, and this is why we are seeking to leverage our influence over our holding through ownership policy.
We incorporate corporate responsibility and sustainability considerations in our investment activities extensively, so as to consider environmental (E), societal and social (S) as well as governance (G) aspects.
We believe that companies seeking to take account of the possibilities and risks embedded in ESG aspects are better positioned to succeed in adapting their operations to changes in the operating environment.
We encourage the companies we own to report on their environmental impacts and to set ambitious targets in an effort to mitigate climate change, reduce environmental hazards and conserve biodiversity (E).
We consider one of the prerequisites for the longer-term financial success of a company to be the fair and equal treatment of its employees. The promotion of workplace well-being constitutes one of the aspects of our activities as a pension insurer. We require the same also from the companies in which we have a holding (S).
It is important for us that the companies we invest in commit to good management and governance practice and to treating all owners/investors equally (G). We focus particular attention on the clear and timely disclosure of information by the companies and mutual funds we invest in, as well as their openness in questions pertinent to us as investors when reporting on their financial status, strategy and risks (G).
We annually publish on our website a report concerning the implementation of our ownership policy, of the most significant voting events and of our voting behaviour at the annual general meetings of companies listed in Finland in which we hold shares. The report has now been published for the years 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022.
Further information is available on our website under Ownership policy. We have elaborated upon the responsibility aspects of our investment activities in the Responsible Investment section.