Quilter Cheviot sets out stewardship activity across Sustainable Opportunities Funds

6 May 2026

Quilter Cheviot has today published details of its stewardship activity across the Sustainable Opportunities Balanced and Sustainable Opportunities Growth Funds, including engagement work and voting outcomes during 2025.

As part of its active ownership approach, Quilter Cheviot engaged with companies and investment trusts (both held or considered for holding) within the Sustainable Opportunities Funds, focusing on issues material to long term value, as well as key sustainability risks and opportunities.

During 2025, Quilter Cheviot engaged with 15 holdings in the Balanced Fund and 18 holdings in the Growth Fund. This included thematic engagements on issues such as the emissions profile of artificial intelligence and water scarcity, with a particular focus on companies offering innovative solutions.

Quilter Cheviot also set out its voting activity for the period, having voted on nearly 1,000 individual resolutions, representing all resolutions for which the Funds had voting rights. During the year, the Funds voted against management on 18 resolutions, including those relating to director elections and remuneration, where proposals lacked sufficient transparency or robustness, or where outcomes did not appropriately reflect performance.

Quilter Cheviot votes and engages with companies on environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters and has integrated ESG considerations into its investment process. Engagement activity is classified across three categories: reactive engagement in response to specific events, proactive thematic and collaborative engagement, and business as usual dialogue as part of ongoing oversight.

Claudia Quiroz, Head of Sustainable Investment at Quilter Cheviot, said: "Engagement and voting are central to holding companies to account on behalf of our clients. They help us assess whether companies are taking material risks seriously, whether incentives are aligned with outcomes, and whether boards are responsive to shareholder concerns.

"We are focused on driving change through active engagement. Our scale and depth of resource enable us to make a difference. Even where we are pleased with company performance, we continue to push for further improvement, ultimately working to protect and enhance long term returns for our clients."