Integration Finalist (2022)

Manulife Investment Management

Project: The Integration Progression Level Ratings of Manulife Investment Management

From the beginning of Manulife Investment Management’s sustainability journey, Manulife IM felt that a clear framework and governance process that tracked the progress of Investment Teams would be crucial to success. With numerous investment teams spread across the globe with different approaches to achieving performance, it was crucial to allow flexibility in approach, but to set standards and monitoring.  

At the heart of Manulife IM’s investment processes is their commitment to bottom up, fundamental, active investment management. Manulife IM views the explicit incorporation of environmental, social and governance factors as a natural corollary of this approach, allowing a more fulsome understanding of risk and reward.  Manulife IM aims to:
-Reduce risk for clients and seek return opportunities from the inevitable transition
-Have a positive impact in achieving sustainability outcomes

In order to formalize this and provide a clear and transparent governance framework, Manulife IM developed their own internal rating system – Integration Progression Level (or IPL).  This process includes a rating of 1 to 5 for each team and covers their ESG approach to research, security selection and valuation, portfolio construction, risk management, and stewardship. 

Once Manulife IM has achieved their target, the next step in the plan is to deploy their internal beyond IPL framework, as to uphold the rigorous standards Manulife IM has set with their integration framework.  

The winner and finalist scorecards can be found here.

Learn more about the 2022 RIA Leadership Awards.