Manager Overview

Aoris was established in 2017 by Stephen Arnold and is an independent, global equity specialist. Prior to forming Aoris, Stephen was head of international equities at Evans and Partners where he managed just over $1billion.

Manager's responsible investing approach

Aoris believes businesses that are good stewards of the environment, operate for the benefit of all societal stakeholders and are soundly governed will be more successful than their peers. It also believes this success will prove to be more durable. Aoris Investment Management is a signatory to the UN Principles for Responsible Investment and the Aoris International Fund has been certified as a Responsible Investment product by the Responsible Investment Association Australasia. 

Aoris applies its ESG principles through Negative screens based on activity or behaviour, as well as through Positive screens based on behaviour. An annual ESG review for all portfolio stocks and portfolio candidates is applied. When specifying businesses to exclude based on the nature of their activity, Aoris first distinguishes between direct exposure and indirect exposure. It then considers whether it should apply a zero tolerance to the activity or a materiality threshold, based on the percentage of a company's revenue the activity accounts for. ESG screens based on behaviour are subjective and vary across investment managers. Rather than delegate to a separate ESG team its analysts are responsible for assessing company behaviour. Aoris seeks to own those whose conduct distinguishes them from their peers in a positive way.

Aoris considers its right to vote as a privilege as well as its fiduciary responsibility, therefore it uses its votes in a manner that it believes is in its clients' best long-term economic interests. It will Aoris vote FOR or AGAINST on all proposals and will abstain on none.