Unveil Providers of the Year at the Benchmark Taiwan Fund Awards 2021

Provider of the Year – companies are assessed by the breadth of winnings across different investment and operational capabilities rather than simply hindsight returns. Weights are allocated to four award categories: House 40%, Sustainability 30%, Manager of the Year 20%, and Quantitative winnings 10%.

Franklin Templeton Investments (" Franklin Templeton") has been crowned Provider of the Year (Mutual Fund) 2021. The two runners-up for this grand award were Allianz Global Investors Taiwan ("AGI") and FSSA Investment Managers ("FSSA"). Franklin Templeton is applauded for its consistency of styles, risk control, and governance across a well-diversified range of asset classes, bringing investors excellent risk-adjusted returns. ESG is of high emphasis and nicely integrated across the board. The committee also praised Franklin Templeton for their continuous effort in advocating investor education, especially for the younger generation. AGI is commended for its commitment to investors' rights and voluntary disclosure and actively implementing ESG to the teams across the continents. FSSA is praised for having an exemplary stewardship team, putting investors' interests first, and successfully integrating ESG across all groups managing various asset classes.

Cathay Securities Investment Trust ("Cathay Securities") is crowned Provider of the Year (ETF) 2021. Cathay Securities is praised for its top-of-the-line stewardship and ESG implementation, and for committing to an active voice although being a passive investor with an active voice. The teams have demonstrated exemplary disclosure to investors and engagement with investees on key issues, including achieving net-zero, while delivering excellent performance, being innovative, and keeping tracking errors low as expected.

"I am excited to see more asset managers in Taiwan taking a more serious approach to Sustainable Investing, and by adopting a more responsible investing approach, despite business disruptions under an ongoing pandemic. While some managers are still studying whether ESG is financially material, our platform, BlueOnion, tells us that higher returns and higher ESG are getting more correlated and convincing by the day," said investor activist organizer Elsa Pau.

References

1. ^{^} Media OutReach (www.media-outreach.com)