WHO WE ARE
A not-for-profit, practitioner-led membership organisation, set up by institutional investors in UK Equities. The Forum’s purpose is to position stewardship at the heart of investment decision-making by facilitating dialogue, creating long-term solutions and enhancing value.
Enhancing the practice of stewardship
Our approach is:
- Value-driven: we base collective engagement on economic rationale
- Discreet: we avoid unnecessary public confrontation
- Safe: we limit the legal and regulatory risks
- Constructive: we identify solutions
- Methodical: we have a consistent and robust process
- Best practice: we seek to enhance stewardship by investors and boards alike
We help investors:
- Realise long-term benefits for their clients
- Maximise their return on engagement effort
- Be confident that collective engagements will be safe, secure and discreet
- Demonstrate their commitment to stewardship activities to all stakeholders
- Contribute to the long-term success of UK-listed companies for the benefit of the broader economy
OUR PURPOSE
The Forum’s purpose is to position stewardship at the heart of investment decision-making by facilitating dialogue, creating long-term solutions and enhancing value.
Our History
In 2012, The Kay Review of UK equity markets and long-term decision-making recommended that ”an investors’ forum should be established to facilitate collective engagements by UK investors in UK companies”.
The Investor Forum was established in 2014 as a not-for-profit member organisation following the considerations of the Collective Engagement Working Group.
Kay Review (2012) obstacles to long-term engagement:
- A decline of trust and misalignment of incentives throughout the equity investment chain.
- Fragmentation has reduced the incentives for engagement and the level of control.
- Internationalisation of ownership with 54% of UK market owned by international investors.
- Perceived regulatory barriers inhibit collective engagement.
- A narrow engagement focus has crowded out discussion on fundamental drivers of long-term strategy and operational execution.
Taken together, this has contributed to an industry structure which too often favours exit over voice.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
The independent Board of Directors is elected each year by the Forum’s Members at the Annual General Meeting.
The Board oversees the work of the Forum’s executive officers.
Michael McLintock | Oct 2021
Chair
Michael is Chair of Associated British Foods plc. Michael retired from M&G in 2016 having joined the company in 1992 and been appointed Chief Executive in 1997. In 1999 he oversaw the sale of M&G to Prudential plc where he served as an Executive Director from 2000 until 2016. He is also a Trustee of the Grosvenor Estate, Chair of Grosvenor Group Limited, and a member of the Takeover Appeal Board. He was a Director of Close Brothers Group from 2001-2008 and a member of the Finance Committee of MCC from 2005-2018.
Paras Anand | Dec 2023
Paras is Chief Investment Officer at Artemis Investment Management. Before joining Artemis in 2022, Paras was CIO for all asset classes and functions across the Asia-Pacific region at Fidelity, based in Singapore, where he led the group’s strategy on sustainability and was global sponsor for cultural diversity. Prior to that he held a number of senior fund management roles in London and New York including Head of European Equities at F&C Investments
Ruth Beechey | March 2022
Ruth was Chief of Staff at UBS Global Asset Management UK, where she worked for 22 years. As a qualified lawyer, her previous roles include being Legal Counsel at UBS and Morgan Grenfell.
Sir Peter Gershon | Jan 2018
Senior Independent Director
Sir Peter has held senior executive and non-executive positions in public and private companies in healthcare, technology, defence and telecommunications industries. His previous senior board level appointments include Chair of National Grid plc, Chair of Premier Farnell plc, Chair of Tate & Lyle plc and Managing Director of Marconi Electronic Systems. Sir Peter also has experience of the public sector through his appointment as Chief Executive of the Office of Government Commerce and leading 3 independent reviews for the UK Government. He is currently chairman of the Dreadnought Alliance and enfinium Limited.
Chris Kinder | Sep 2024
CEO
With over 20 years of experience as a UK-focused equity fund manager, Chris has expertly managed a range of different fund types – including investment trusts and institutional and retail mandates. Most recently, he was a senior fund manager at Columbia Threadneedle Investments. Chris brings a wealth of experience and insight and extensive connections across the UK equity market.
Chris holds a degree in Modern European Languages from Durham University, and qualified as a chartered accountant with PwC. He is an independent advisor to BBC Children in Need.
Alex Edmans | May 2022
Alex is Professor of Finance at London Business School who focuses on corporate governance, responsible business and behavioural finance. Alex is a Director of the American Finance Association and Financial Management Association, and a member of Royal London Asset Management’s Responsible Investment Advisory Committee. He gave the TED talk “What to Trust in a Post-Truth World” and the TEDx talks “The Social Responsibility of Business” and “The Pie-Growing Mindset”. He is the author of “Grow the Pie: How Great Companies Deliver Both Purpose and Profit” and “Principles of Corporate Finance” with Brealey, Myers, and Allen. Poets & Quants named him Professor of the Year for 2021.
Luba Nikulina | Apr 2019
Luba is Chief Strategy Officer at IFM Investors, a global investment firm focused on private assets, owned by 20 Australian pension funds. Prior to this, she was global Head of Research at Willis Towers Watson, responsible for the global team of more than a hundred investment professionals, and co-Chair of the Investment Consultant Sustainability Working Group.
Andrew Millington | Dec 2020
Andrew is Global Head of Equity Research and Investment Process at abrdn. Andrew was previously Head of UK Equities at ASI, after starting his career at Baillie Gifford. He is a Trustee of Cattanach, a Scottish grant making charity. Andrew is a member of the IA Investment Committee.
Chantal Waight | Dec 2020
Chair of the Operating Oversight Committee
Chantal has worked as an investment analyst on both the sell and buy side, and was previously Head of Equity Research at M&G Investments. Chantal has more recently held corporate roles as Director of Strategy and Corporate Development at M&G plc and as the Director of Investor Relations at Prudential plc. Chantal is Managing Director, Group Risk at Athora.
LEGAL PANEL
Since inception, the Investor Forum has received extensive pro bono support from a number of leading law firms.
The Forum’s Legal Panel plays a key role in helping the Forum maintain operating procedures which create a safe and secure legal and regulatory environment in which to undertake collective engagement.
