Our Approach on Human Rights Issues

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management (SMDAM) respects the human rights of all persons including our officers and employees, investee companies, and all those throughout our value chain to materialize our corporate vision of becoming the “Best Asset Management Firm for your Better Quality of Life.” SMDAM has established this Human Rights Policy to ensure the human rights for every person who could be affected by our business activities, and promote them through initiatives.

We adhere to the international standards of human rights such as the International Bill of Human Rights (the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the two Covenants), the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and the Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact. In addition to our compliance with the laws and regulations of the countries and regions in which we conduct business activities, when internationally recognized human rights standards and national or regional laws and regulations are in conflict, SMDAM honors the principles of internationally recognized human rights while respecting the laws and regulations in the nation or region.

We respect fundamental human rights and prohibit any discrimination or harassment based on race, nationality, gender, age, marital status, origin, religion, creed, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or any other grounds, while we make our greatest effort to protect individuals’ privacy. We also respect the fundamental rights at work and do not tolerate any form of child labor, forced labor or any other inappropriate labor practices.

We aim to foster a safe working environment where every employee can work with peace of mind and enjoy a healthy work-life balance. We also strive to continue to improve our corporate culture that allows every individual employee to maximize their potential and work with enthusiasm.

We consider human rights initiatives conducted by our investee companies as critical non-financial information in our investment process. If there is any human rights issue identified, we prompt investee companies to take appropriate actions through engagement activities. Meanwhile, we fulfill our responsibility for the human rights to be upheld all along the value chain by encouraging our business partners to take appropriate actions to not violate the human rights.

We provide training programs for all officers and employees to raise their awareness and understand both domestic and global human rights issues, so that each individual is able to adhere to human rights in their business activities.

We have established the process of human rights due diligence, which is conducted continuously to identify any human rights risk items in our business activities. Through this process we prevent or mitigate adverse impacts on human rights.

We initiate immediate and appropriate procedures and implement necessary remedial actions whenever we encounter any adverse human rights impact caused within our business activities, and make our upmost effort to prevent recurrence. In case that we become aware of our involvement in any adverse impact caused in our value chain, SMDAM along with our business partners will engage in consultation with stake holders affected by our businesses activities in good faith.