Engagement
Case studies
With an average holding period of 4-7 years for our investments, our view is inherently longer-term than investment industry averages. This means that we naturally act as owners of investee companies, rather than short-term traders.
Our engagement activity with portfolio companies is mostly proactive, based on strategic objectives and is often carried out over several years. Where necessary, we use escalation tactics or collaborate with other investors to achieve our desired results.
Voting
We view the voting rights we have as equity holders as an opportunity to exercise a progressive influence on company governance and strategy. WHEB’s policy is to exercise our rights at 100% of company meetings where we are eligible to vote.
Our voting is guided by our policies which are intended to promote long-term value for shareholders and mitigate risk at portfolio companies.
We publish full voting records which detail every shareholder resolution on which WHEB is eligible to vote in the quarter, how we have voted and a rationale for our decision to vote in this way.
Stewardship reports
These reports set out the policies and processes that direct WHEB’s stewardship activities. It also documents the extensive work that we’ve done with portfolio companies over the year to encourage them to improve their ESG and impact practices.
The reports provide:
- summary data of the work undertaken in the previous year
- detailed case studies that illustrate our decision-making processes
- the impact that we can have via our ‘investor contribution’
Policies
We are pleased to share our Stewardship & engagement and Voting policies.
Our Stewardship & engagement policy is aligned with the UK’s Stewardship Code and details WHEB’s purpose and governance, our investment approach, as well as voting and engagement activities.
Our proxy voting policies are intended to promote long-term shareholder value creation and risk mitigation at portfolio firms through support for responsible global corporate governance practices.