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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
Proxy voting
Proxy voting: Q1 2025
Asia Pacific Leaders proxy voting: 1 January - 31 March 2025
Proxy voting by country of origin
Proxy 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. Proxy voting chart numbers may not add to 100 due to rounding. SHP means: Shareholder Proposal.
Proxy voting: Q4 2024
Asia Pacific Leaders proxy voting: 1 October - 31 December 2024
Proxy voting by country of origin
Proxy 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. Proxy voting chart numbers may not add to 100 due to rounding. SHP means: Shareholder Proposal.
Proxy voting: Q3 2024
Asia Pacific Leaders proxy voting: 1 July - 30 September 2024
Proxy voting by country of origin
Proxy 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. Proxy voting chart numbers may not add to 100 due to rounding. SHP means: Shareholder Proposal.
Proxy voting: Q2 2024
Asia Pacific Leaders proxy voting: 1 April - 30 June 2024
Proxy voting by country of origin
Proxy voting by proposal category
During the quarter there were 225 resolutions from 23 companies to vote on. On behalf of clients, we voted against six resolutions.
We voted against the appointment of the auditor at Glodon and Yifeng Pharmacy Chain as they have been in place for over 10 years and the companies’ have given no information on intended rotation. We believe rotating an auditor on a relatively frequent basis (e.g. every 5-10 years) helps to ensure a fresh pair of eyes are examining the accounts, and follows best practice. (two resolutions)
We voted against a proposal regarding transaction of business at Kasikornbank as the company provided insufficient detail on the proposal and we wish to avoid unfettered discretion. (one resolution)
We voted against the proposed employee stock ownership plan at Midea as we believe non-executive director involvement could lead to a conflict of interest and would not be in shareholders' interest. (three 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. Proxy 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 31 March 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.
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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