We’re delighted to announce that we have been shortlisted in the ESG Initiative category at the Asset Servicing Times Industry Excellence Awards 2023.
These awards are presented in association with TSSAG, The Securities Services Advisory Group, which is a forum for independent thought leadership and engagement across the securities services and post-trade industry. The forum focuses on supporting and recognising talented and dedicated businesses, individuals and teams within the industry, and the eventual winner will be part of an exclusive group of some of the most influential names in financial services.
We’re particularly proud that our commitment to ensuring environmental, social and governance policies as the bedrock of everything we do is being recognised by the industry. We’ve been a pioneer in ESG; we are committed to the UN Principles for Responsible Investment and our company governance policy conforms to ISO 27001. We were one of the first firms to receive this and we have maintained it for nine years.
As part of our ESG engagement, we are currently undertaking a major survey of businesses, due for publication in late 2023, to discover the challenges they are facing in relation to ESG policy. We’re excited to be supporting an industry-wide initiative in cooperation with ISSA, FIS and Proxymity – ‘Proxy voting and class actions: today’s ESG challenge’ – designed to provide detailed, statistical clarity on how and where we can scale together to support increased shareholder stewardship. The survey will allow participants to benchmark their own strategy with their peers, helping to leverage insights from across the globe, provide fresh data on progress to date, the key drivers and disruptors, and perspectives on future trends and challenges.
Our ESG social framework encompasses support for the arts, education and community events and a particular emphasis on staff volunteering, with every employee being offered two days a year to volunteer for an approved organisation. Goal recently signed up to The Big Help Out, a voluntary initiative supported by some of the UK’s biggest volunteer organisations. Their app helps staff find local volunteering opportunities and search by dates they are available. We have an established diversity, equality and inclusion policy and an uncompromising modern slavery policy both of which apply not only to our employees but also to our associates, vendors and clients.
Our securities class action recovery service involves constant interaction with company shareholders and we recommend unambiguous information-sharing with them as a key part of ESG strategy. Shareholders are major drivers of ESG policy, and we consistently recommend to clients that good governance involves the responsible harnessing of proxy voting power.
The number of securities class actions arising from ESG-related circumstances is rising rapidly, with environmentally driven issues probably being the fastest-growing sphere. Being shortlisted in this category in the AST Awards is a recognition that we’re helping to lead the way in the establishment of ESG policies as an essential business approach.
The awards ceremony and dinner will be taking place on 9th November at The Plaisterers’ Hall in London, and we’ll be hoping to carry off the accolade.
Goal Group works with some of the world’s most prominent financial institutions and asset management organisations in the stress-free management of securities class actions, underwritten by tried and tested ESG strategies. Our redoubtable team has contributed to many successful claim filings, and undertakes global research, analysis, processing, relationship management, and settlement distribution reconciliation. We work with asset managers, pension funds, hedge funds, investment banks, private banks and prime brokers as a trusted partner; why not contact us and find out more about our services.
