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Asia Pacific Leaders
The Asia Pacific Leaders strategy invests in large and mid-sized companies which generally have a total stock market value of at least US$1 billion.
The Asia Pacific Leaders strategy was originally launched in December 2003 and invests in large and mid-sized companies which generally have a total stock market value of at least US$1 billion (hence ‘Leaders’).
This equity-only strategy seeks to invest in between 30 to 60 high-quality businesses in the Asia Pacific region (including Australia and New Zealand, but excluding Japan) that are helping bring about a more sustainable future.
Strategy highlights: a focus on quality and sustainability
- Companies must contribute to sustainable development. Portfolio Explorer >
- We invest in high-quality companies with exceptional cultures, strong franchises and resilient financials. How we pick companies >
- We avoid companies linked to harmful activities and engage and vote for positive change. Our position on harmful products >
- Our approach is long-term, bottom-up, high conviction and benchmark agnostic
- We focus on capital preservation as well as capital growth – we define risk as the permanent loss of client capital
Latest insights
Voting
Voting: Q2 2025
Asia Pacific Leaders voting: 1 April - 30 June 2025
Voting by country of origin
Voting by proposal category
During the quarter there were 296 proposals from 24 companies to vote on. On behalf of our clients, we voted against five proposals.
We voted against proposals on transaction of business at Ayala and Kasikornbank, as they did not provide enough information about the proposals. We wanted to avoid giving unrestricted decision-making power without sufficient clarity. (three proposals)
We voted against the appointment of the auditor at Glodon as they have been in place for over 10 years. The company has given no information on rotating its auditors, a practice we believe is important to ensure a fresh perspective is brought to its accounts. (one proposal)
We voted against the election of a director at Trip.com due to the company's lack of disclosure regarding director attendance, the number of board meetings held, and the voting results from the previous year. Our aim is to encourage greater transparency and the adoption of global governance standards. (one proposal)
Source for company information: Stewart Investors investment team and company data. This stock information does not constitute any offer or inducement to enter into any investment activity. Portfolio data shown is from representative strategy accounts of the strategy shown above. Voting chart numbers may not add to 100 due to rounding. SHP means: Shareholder Proposal.
Voting: Q1 2025
Asia Pacific Leaders voting: 1 January - 31 March 2025
Voting by country of origin
Voting by proposal category
During the quarter there were 62 resolutions from 12 companies to vote on. On behalf of clients, we voted against five resolutions.
We voted against executive remuneration at Bank Central Asia because we believed it was excessive. (one resolution)
We voted against the election of two directors and an audit committee member at Samsung Electronics as we do not believe them to be truly independent. (three resolutions)
We voted against the election of the audit committee chair at Unicharm as we do not believe they are independent. (one resolution)
Source for company information: Stewart Investors investment team and company data. This stock information does not constitute any offer or inducement to enter into any investment activity. Portfolio data shown is from representative strategy accounts of the strategy shown above. Voting chart numbers may not add to 100 due to rounding. SHP means: Shareholder Proposal.
Voting: Q4 2024
Asia Pacific Leaders voting: 1 October - 31 December 2024
Voting by country of origin
Voting by proposal category
During the quarter there were 52 resolutions from eight companies to vote on. On behalf of clients, we voted against eight resolutions.
At ResMed, we voted against the Board re-election of Peter C. Farrell who retired from the company over 10 years ago and believe should step down from the Board. We also voted against the re-election of Richard Sulpizio as Chair of the nominating and governance committee, due to the decreasing gender diversity on the Board. We voted against the company’s executive remuneration and payment terms, as we have concerns around the complexity and use of many adjusted metrics. We also voted against the re-appointment of the auditor as they have been in place for over 10 years and the company has given no information on intended rotation which we believe is important for ensuring a fresh perspective on the financial accounts. (eight resolutions)
Source for company information: Stewart Investors investment team and company data. This stock information does not constitute any offer or inducement to enter into any investment activity. Portfolio data shown is from representative strategy accounts of the strategy shown above. Voting chart numbers may not add to 100 due to rounding. SHP means: Shareholder Proposal.
Voting: Q3 2024
Asia Pacific Leaders voting: 1 July - 30 September 2024
Voting by country of origin
Voting by proposal category
During the quarter there were 126 resolutions from 16 companies to vote on. On behalf of clients, we voted against one resolution.
We voted against the appointment of the auditor at Vitasoy as they have been in place for over ten years. The company has given no information on intended rotation which we believe is important for ensuring a fresh perspective on the accounts. (one resolution)
Source for company information: Stewart Investors investment team and company data. This stock information does not constitute any offer or inducement to enter into any investment activity. Portfolio data shown is from representative strategy accounts of the strategy shown above. Voting chart numbers may not add to 100 due to rounding. SHP means: Shareholder Proposal.
Portfolio Explorer
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For illustrative purposes only. Reference to the names of example company names mentioned in this communication is merely for explaining the investment strategy and should not be construed as investment advice or investment recommendation of those companies. Companies mentioned herein may or may not form part of the holdings of Stewart Investors. Holdings are subject to change.
Certain statements, estimates, and projections in this document may be forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based upon Stewart Investors’ current assumptions and beliefs, in light of currently available information, but involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Actual actions or results may differ materially from those discussed. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. There is no certainty that current conditions will last, and Stewart Investors undertakes no obligation to correct, revise or update information herein, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Source: Stewart Investors investment team and company data. Securities mentioned are all investee companies* from representative Asia Pacific All Cap Strategy, Asia Pacific & Japan All Cap Strategy, Asia Pacific Leaders Strategy, European All Cap Strategy, European (ex UK) All Cap Strategy, Global Emerging Markets (ex China) Leaders Strategy, Global Emerging Markets Leaders Strategy, Global Emerging Markets All Cap Strategy, Indian Subcontinent All Cap Strategy, Worldwide All Cap Strategy and Worldwide Leaders Strategy accounts as at 30 June 2025. *Assets that the strategies may hold which an active decision has not been made, and sustainability assessment does not apply, include cash, cash equivalents, short-term holdings for the purpose of efficient portfolio management and holdings received as a result of mandatory corporate actions. Holdings of such assets will not appear on Portfolio Explorer. Not all strategies are available in all jurisdictions or to all audience types.
The Stewart Investors supports the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The full list of SDGs can be found on the United Nations website.
Source for Climate Solutions and impact figures: © 2014–2025 Project Drawdown (drawdown.org). Source for Human Development Pillars: Stewart Investors investment team.
Source for climate solutions and human development analysis and mapping: Stewart Investors investment team. Contributions are defined by the team as demonstrable contributions to any solution, either direct (directly attributable to products, services or practices provided by that company), or enabling (supported or made possible by products or technologies provided by that company).
Investment terms
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