Meanwhile, other jurisdictions that are not as advanced on their sustainability journey may have taken a different or even conflicting approach to that adopted by the EU which could prove challenging for all stakeholders to manage. It is not just asset managers who are coming to terms with the new levels of reporting and disclosure, but, equally, we acknowledge the challenges our clients are facing to meet their regulatory commitments. At Neuberger Berman we offer a range of Article 8 and Article 9 funds as designated under the SFDR and are here to support clients through the regulation challenges they face. Oversight of ESG Integration Investment professionals throughout the firm are responsible for incorporating material ESG factors in portfolios and investment research. A high percentage of our professionals have ESG responsibility as a part of their role. As much as ESG is a common thread across all that we do at Neuberger Berman, our ESG Committee has top-down responsibility for overseeing ESG integration and activity across the firm. The ESG Committee is chaired by the Head of ESG Investing and composed of senior investment professionals, including the Chief Investment Officer for Equities and representatives from Equity, Fixed Income and Private Equity teams. The ESG Committee also includes our Chief Risk Officer and senior professionals from our client coverage organization, as well as our legal and compliance teams. The ESG Committee delegates responsibility for the detailed review of new and existing strategies making an ESG-related claim to the ESG Product Committee to ensure integrity and consistency in their integration of ESG. The ESG Product Committee is responsible for determining whether portfolio managers systematically and explicitly include material ESG considerations as a factor in their investment analysis and investment decisions for all securities. The ESG Product Committee is also responsible for determining the SFDR classification of in-scope funds and segregated
mandates. In addition to ongoing monitoring by risk and internal audit teams, the ESG Oversight Committee provides an annual review of all sustainable and impact-labeled products. Neuberger Berman also has a dedicated ESG Investing team, which is responsible for setting the firm’s global ESG Strategy in collaboration with the ESG Committee and after consultation with portfolio managers, CIOs and our CEO. The ESG Investing team drives the implementation of the global ESG strategy by deepening the integration of ESG themes into new and existing investment strategies. The ESG Investing team also coordinates the firm’s approach to proxy voting and engagement, works with research teams on innovating our proprietary ESG assessment of companies and issuers, and provides thought leadership that highlights our ESG research in order to encourage dialogue and share best practices. The ESG Investing team’s work is supported by ESG working groups at the asset-class level that are responsible for providing context-specific expertise and assisting with education and implementation among the investment teams. For additional detail on asset-class specific ESG philosophies, please reference our ESG Policy. Monitoring Progress We monitor the progress we are making and are continually enhancing the integration of ESG into our investment processes. Relevant indicators of progress include the proportion of assets under management that are formally ESG-integrated, our score in the PRI assessment report each year, the effect of ESG analysis on portfolio performance, the impact of our engagement and proxy voting activities, and whether we are meeting the needs of our clients for ESG-integrated solutions. Given the dynamic and evolving nature of ESG factors that are material to investment performance, we are committed to continued innovation and improvement.
2021 ESG ANNUAL REPORT
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