Canadian Equities – 2024 Sustainable Investing Report

A message from the Canadian Equity Team

For equity investors, it’s never a dull day. Each year is full of unpredictable surprises and challenges for each business in the portfolio. To which, each business is expected to adapt and react in order to succeed. This unpredictability is normal and every year something unusual will arrive. Hence why we focus so much on businesses with strong historical track records and good balance sheets that allow them to adapt and overcome challenges. They have worked and flexed that muscle which just prepares them better for whatever comes next.

The group of managers running these businesses have done an exceptional job over the years and we believe our clients’ capital is in good hands.

Concerning the world of sustainable investing, it would be fair to say the foundations of this global movement were shaken a bit in 2024. This led to some organisations pausing certain activities or changing their priorities, while others refocused and stayed the course. Intensely politicized, the anti-ESG movement gained momentum in certain jurisdictions, and that is expected to continue in 2025.

With that said, it is important to take a moment to reemphasize our sustainability philosophy: we believe sustainability is a part of long-term investing and has an important role in our ability to identify good quality companies. And when it comes to sustainable investing, we look at the five dimensions of the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), which are Social Capital, Human Capital, Environment, Leadership & Governance and Business Model & Innovation. We believe it’s a more focused and defined approach to integrating sustainable business practices to investing, compared to the commonly used E, S and G dimensions.