Participation in Initiatives

The Principles for Financial Actions for the 21st Century are principles established in October 2011 based on the recommendations of the Central Environmental Council of the Ministry of the Environment as action guidelines for financial institutions willing to fulfill responsibilities and roles necessary to form a sustainable society. We joined in December 2017.

The IICEF was established in October 2017 to support constructive "purposeful dialogue" (collaborative engagement) between multiple institutional investors and companies. SMDAM has participated in the Forum since its inception.

The JSI was established in November 2019 as a cross-industry organization that resolves issues pertaining to the actual business portion of stewardship activities by institutional investors. It engages in activities that contribute to the deepening and sophistication of stewardship activities such as the operation of reporting (smart) formats for communication between asset management firms and asset owners and the holding of seminars and study sessions. We have been a member of the JSI since its establishment.

The ESG Disclosure Study Group is a forum where investors and corporations come together to explore effective and efficient information-disclosure frameworks and promote mutual understanding among stakeholders for the purpose of “creating a mechanism that realizes the sustainable development of Society keeping with the long term value creation of Companies themselves.” SMDAM also makes proactive remarks on the disclosure of information on ESG that is beneficial to both investors and corporations. We joined this group in October 2020.

The TCFD was established in April 2015 by the Financial Stability Board (FSB) at the request of the G20 for the purpose of examining how the disclosure of information on climate change and the pertinent response of financial institutions should be conducted. We declared our support for the TCFD in December 2019.

CDP is a UK-based non-governmental organization (NGO) that runs a global disclosure platform for investors, companies, states, regions and cities with which they can manage their own environmental impact. Since the establishment of its predecessor, the Carbon Disclosure Project, in 2000, the organization has been sending out questionnaires on areas such as climate change, water, forests and supply chains and disclosing pertinent information to institutional investors. We became a signatory to CDP in June 2021.

The CA100+ is a collective engagement program which identifies and conducts engagements with over 100 global companies that release large amounts of GHG emissions in order to meet the targets under the Paris Agreement. This program is to be implemented from December 2017 to 2030. It asks for the reduction of GHG emissions, monitoring of climate change-related risks and opportunities, and improvement of environmental information disclosure in line with the TCFD from the standpoint of asset management. We became a signatory in February 2020.

The 30% Club, which was founded in the UK in 2010, is a global campaign aimed at an increase of the proportion of women on seats in companies’ important decision-making bodies, including the board of directors. Its Japanese body, 30% Club Japan, went into action in May 2019. The Investor Group, one of its working groups, aims to share the importance of gender diversity with the management team of investee companies and to exercise influence in achieving that diversity. We joined in December 2019.

PRI Advance was established in December 2022 by the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) as an initiative to solve human rights and other social issues. SMDAM became a signatory at its launch and has been participating in a collaborative engagement with one Japanese company as a Collaborative Investor.

U.N. Principles for Responsible Investment newly established an initiative of domestic and foreign investors, aiming to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030. We joined in February 2024.

TNFD is a nature related financial disclosure initiative. TNFD Forum is an international organization that supports discussions at the TNFD as stakeholders providing expertise. We joined in January 20

ACGA is a non-profit organization mainly based in Hong Kong that was established in 1999 with the objective of working to improve corporate governance in Asian markets based on the idea that corporate governance is an indispensable element for the long-term growth of the Asian economy and capital markets. We became a signatory in 2007.