Investments
Ownership strategies
NBIM seeks to protect its investments in more than 8,300 companies worldwide by promoting better market standards for corporate governance. Good corporate governance lays the basis for profitable business development. It safeguards shareholder rights and ensures a fair distribution of dividend payments.
We use various tools to promote better market standards and shareholder rights. These include dialogue with companies in our portfolio, other investors and standard setters. We also vote at shareholder meetings, file shareholder proposals and take part in open consultations on corporate governance. We revised our principles for corporate governance in 2009.
NBIM’s holdings averaged 1 percent of the world’s listed companies at the end of 2009. We have six strategic focus areas for our ownership activities:
- Equal treatment of shareholders
- Shareholder influence and board accountability
- Well-functioning, legitimate and efficient markets
- Children’s rights
- Climate change management
- Water management
NBIM seeks to ensure that companies manage risks associated with children’s rights, climate change and increasingly scarce water resources. These issues can adversely impact a company’s operations and consequently hurt our long-term investments. NBIM has published guidelines for how we expect companies to manage these risks in their operations and supply chains.
Companies in our portfolio are expected to follow established standards for corporate governance. NBIM is a signatory to the UN Principles for Responsible Investment. We exercise ownership rights based on the UN Global Compact and the OECD Guidelines for Corporate Governance and Multinational Enterprises.
Reports on activities are provided on a quarterly basis.
Voting records are disclosed together with the annual report.
