Investor Stewardship in an Uncertain World - A Conference Report

Abstract

The Investor Stewardship in an Uncertain World Conference, convened on Friday, May 27th 2022 at King’s College London, took stock of how investor stewardship has come to be understood and practiced by investors who have taken up the mantle of stewardship over recent years. The Conference was organized by Dr Dionysia Katelouzou of The Dickson Poon School of Law, King’s College London in collaboration with the European Corporate Governance Institute and the British Academy. Investor Stewardship in an Uncertain World is the second conference organized under the auspices of the Global Shareholder Stewardship Project, which brings together leading experts in academia and practice to examine the development of investor stewardship principles across the globe and assess its effectiveness.

The Conference sought to address the significant changes since the previous conference took place in 2019 and provided a forum for regulators, academics and practitioners to discuss the challenges to effective stewardship, especially in times of uncertainty. Society at large has faced significant challenges including the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, the global escalation of armed conflict and the ever-increasing demand to tackle economic and social inequalities. As the investment industry continues to grapple with these challenges, the Investor Stewardship in an Uncertain World Conference provided a forum for examining the effectiveness of investor stewardship while navigating significant short-term shock and unprecedented climate and social upheaval. Finally, the Conference hosted the launch of Global Shareholder Stewardship, a book co-edited by Dr Katelouzou and Professor Dan Puchniak which brings together contributors from the first Global Shareholder Stewardship conference to explore the dispersion of stewardship principles across the globe.

Keywords: Investor Stewardship, Corporate Governance, Institutional Investors, COVID-19, Climate Change, Conference Report, Systematic Risks