City Hive urges data platforms and providers to incorporate ACT signatory status

City Hive’s ACT Stewardship Council has urged data platforms to include ACT Signatory status in firm- and fund-level data, calling it a key tool for fund selectors to assess culture and behaviours.

The ACT Stewardship Council, a cross-industry body of fund selectors and investors acting on behalf of $2trn in clients' assets, has issued a letter to data platforms and providers to publish an investment house's signatory status and the year the firm became a signatory.

The think-tank and advocacy group said these are both "key" indicators for analysts assessing its commitment to workplace culture and transparency.

ACT signatories pledge to disclose in a standardised way, offering a "high degree of openness and granularity" into how their culture influences investment outcomes, with early adopters showing a long-term focus on driving cultural change.

"There are many cautionary tales about transparency, whistleblowing and the importance of being able to challenge decisions and avoid complacency. It is very difficult to tell you about the calamities that have been avoided," said City Hive co-CEO Bev Shah.

"We can point to big scandals that arise from attrition or a longer-term failure of leadership and governance - these things are obvious.

"But it is harder to spot talent leaking away from a firm over time, it is harder to say when boards have made the right call. Ultimately, good culture is about vigilance and willingness to be challenged and to stand firm on values that have proven to be effective over time."

AM Insights is the first fund data platform to integrate the ACT Mark, which highlights a firm's ACT Signatory status as a key piece of firm-level information for fund due diligence.

"As a former fund buyer and now founder of fund data platform AM Insights, I understand the crucial role culture plays in the fund selection process," said Lucy Walker, founder of fund data platform AM Insights and member of the ACT Stewardship Council.

"What was once difficult to quantify is now made clearer with the ACT Mark, signalling an asset manager's commitment to this vital area."