Corporate responsibility

Newton is a signatory to the Net Zero Asset Managers (NZAM) initiative, an international group of asset managers committed to supporting the goal of net-zero greenhouse-gas emissions by 2050 or sooner.

Our commitment relates to the financed emissions (Scope 1 and 2) of our actively managed equity and corporate bond portfolios, around 67% of our overall assets. The commitment is that 50% of these financed emissions should come from companies with emissions-reduction plans which are science-based by 2030 and 100% by 2040. We define whether our financed emissions have science-based targets using the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) ‘committed’ and ‘approved’ status.

We seek to invest behind a changing world and therefore we support transition. This means allocating not only to companies facilitating the path towards decarbonisation, but also to those companies with transition plans at varying stages. We believe companies’ transition plans should benefit from patient and engaged capital from investors such as Newton.

Regarding our business and operations, Newton is part of the BNY group which is committed to maintaining carbon neutrality as an operating business, including business travel. As with all members of the BNY group, this seeks to ensure that Newton’s impact on exacerbating climate change is minimised.

How we consider climate-related risks and opportunities with regard to our business and our clients’ investments.

We actively engage within our communities and have a focus on belonging and inclusion, financial education and environmental initiatives.

In the UK, we embrace and educate young people from all socio-economic backgrounds via our corporate partnership with the Brokerage, whose mission is to help disadvantaged young people fulfil their potential through improved awareness and access to professional career opportunities. We also participate in their ‘career bootcamps’ to help young adults from underprivileged backgrounds with career advice, interview preparation and other practical help to find their footing in a job.

Newton is also a sponsor of the Catalyst Education Programme, a workstream of the Diversity Project, aiming to provide professional industry-recognised qualifications to college students.

Two financial education charities our employees have supported through volunteer opportunities include Young Enterprise in the UK and Bay Area Financial Education Foundation in the US.

We respect that many employees also want to support local organisations and charities that they have a particular affiliation with and invite employees at all levels of the company to engage in the ‘Giving at BNY’ programme and make a difference by being community champions. Newton employees also support a peer-nominated charity each year through various initiatives. Eligible employees may take up to three days of paid volunteer time per year and receive company-matching donations for their time. BNY also incentivises charitable donations to nonprofits by matching employees’ donations.

Our parent company BNY plays an important role in the global financial system, and that foundation drives its approach to sustainability. It focuses on resilience, and operates to enable a more inclusive, environmentally sustainable, and trusted financial system. It empowers its clients and partners with solutions to meet their own sustainability objectives and to advance a more inclusive economy.

As part of BNY, Newton adheres to the BNY Code of Conduct, which provides a practical set of principles that guide all our business decisions. The BNY Code of Conduct guides our actions and decisions as individuals. The Code aligns with BNY’s strategic pillars: Be More for Our Clients, Run Our Company Better and Power Our Culture. Our guidelines for ethical behaviour in our day-to-day work are guided by our culture of integrity, which means we do what is right, always, regardless of the impact on a specific transaction or short-term working relationship.

All employees must certify through an annual attestation programme that they have read and understood all Code of Conduct provisions.

Your capital may be at risk. The value of investments and the income from them can fall as well as rise and investors may not get back the original amount invested.