Schroders doubles down on stewardship priorities

Schroders has updated its engagement strategy for 2026, introducing new cross-thematic focus areas, clearer distinctions between asset classes and enhanced tracking of engagement outcomes, as it seeks to sharpen transparency around how stewardship is delivered across listed and private markets.

The asset manager has expanded the number of cross-cutting topics that sit alongside its six core engagement priorities – climate change, natural capital and biodiversity, human rights, human capital management, diversity and inclusion, and corporate governance – reflecting issues increasingly raised by clients and companies according to Kimberley Lewis (pictured), head of active ownership at Schroders. The new cross-thematic areas now include transition, geopolitics, supply chains, technology, health and inequality.

In an interview with PA Future, Lewis and engagement manager Lucy Larner, who leads the annual refresh of the engagement ‘blueprint’, said the new areas mirror the way engagement discussions have evolved over recent years.

“When we go back and think about how our engagements have evolved over time, those topics are constantly coming up,” she said. “Trade friction and changes we’ve seen have implications for human rights across supply chains and could also impact Scope 3 emissions or longer-term net-zero goals.”

The group has updated separate blueprints for listed assets and private markets.

The listed assets blueprint now places greater emphasis on explaining how engagement approaches differ – and align – across equities and fixed income. Lewis explained the changes aim to provide clients with a clearer understanding of how stewardship translates across asset classes without implying fundamentally different philosophies.

“There’s a very similar overarching approach and they’re not completely different,” Larner said. “We’re still guided by the same principles, but there are obviously different nuances that can inform how engagement comes together.”

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She added that while equity engagement may be reinforced through voting decisions or shareholder resolutions, fixed income engagement often centres on pre-issuance dialogue and assessing sustainability bond frameworks. Greater collaboration between credit analysts and stewardship teams has helped bridge the two approaches, particularly in sectors such as banking where governance and climate risks intersect across capital structures.

Alongside the listed assets blueprint, Schroders Capital has introduced updates to its private markets engagement strategy, including clearer definitions of active ownership within each asset class and a more structured approach to stakeholder engagement. Schroders said stakeholder engagement would now be defined specifically as engagement linked to individual investments, distinguishing it from broader policy or industry initiatives.

In direct real estate and infrastructure, Schroders now separates active ownership into two pillars – active management and stakeholder engagement – highlighting the dual responsibility of maintaining robust sustainability standards while delivering financial returns.

Meanwhile, the asset manager, which recently announced a takeover by Nuveen, has also sought to strengthen its ability to monitor engagement outcomes. By refining how activities are tracked across asset classes, the firm said in the document it aims to provide clients with a better understanding of progress and results.

‘Transparency and continuity’

While the updates introduce several structural changes, Schroders stressed the underlying message of the 2026 blueprint is continuity rather than a shift in stewardship priorities.

Lewis explained the refresh was designed to reinforce transparency while maintaining a consistent approach to long-term issues such as climate change and diversity.

“The key message is continuity,” she said. “The purpose of the blueprint is really transparency – to show both our clients and also the companies that we engage with what our expectations are, what we think it looks like, and what we’re trying to achieve in our engagement.”

Lewis also noted that despite geopolitical tensions and regulatory scrutiny, the firm has not altered its core engagement themes. “Our themes remain unchanged, and the message to companies is that we are engaging you on the same issues,” she said. “For long-term issues, long-term engagement is required, and we’re very much committed to staying the course.”

She added client demand for stewardship transparency remains strong across regions despite the backlash in the US. “Our clients are very engaged in stewardship and they have high expectations for transparency – and that hasn’t changed,” she said. “There certainly hasn’t been any level of apathy. If anything, it’s been steady or even slightly increased.”

Although the firm has faced greater legal and compliance scrutiny around climate engagement in certain markets, Lewis said this has resulted in more rigorous evidencing rather than any change in direction. “It hasn’t changed our view – it’s just shifted the amount of resource we’ve had to spend evidencing the materiality and making sure our clients are protected,” she said.

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