Morgan Stanley IM: 2024 Stewardship Trends

Executive Summary

• Natural Capital and Biodiversity Stewardship: Increased focus around portfolio companies’ impact and dependencies on natural resources, in consideration of the new guidance from the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD).
  
• Workers’ Rights: We expect shareholder resolutions focused on workers’ rights to maintain higher investor support compared to other social issues in 2024.
  
• AI Transparency and Oversight: The GST expects proposals to establish AI oversight and transparency as a new emerging issue across sector in the 2024 proxy season. For instance, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published letters suggesting that Apple⁴ and Disney⁵ should put their AI-related shareholder proposals to a vote has set a precedent.

⁴ U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Apple Inc. 2024-01-03 (Retrieved 2024-04-08)
⁵ U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, The Walt Disney Company. 2024-01-03. (Retrieved 2024-02-27)

RISK CONSIDERATIONS

There is no assurance that a portfolio will achieve its investment objective. Portfolios are subject to market risk, which is the possibility that the market values of securities owned by the portfolio will decline and that the value of portfolio shares may therefore be less than what you paid for them. Market values can change daily due to economic and other events (e.g. natural disasters, health crises, terrorism, conflicts and social unrest) that affect markets, countries, companies or governments. It is difficult to predict the timing, duration, and potential adverse effects (e.g. portfolio liquidity) of events. Accordingly, you can lose money investing in this portfolio. Please be aware that this portfolio may be subject to certain additional risks. In general, equities securities’ values also fluctuate in response to activities specific to a company. Investments in foreign markets entail special risks such as currency, political, economic, market and liquidity risks. The risks of investing in emerging market countries are greater than risks associated with investments in foreign developed countries. Privately placed and restricted securities may be subject to resale restrictions as well as a lack of publicly available information, which will increase their illiquidity and could adversely affect the ability to value and sell them (liquidity risk). Derivative instruments may disproportionately increase losses and have a significant impact on performance. They also may be subject to counterparty, liquidity, valuation, correlation and market risks. To the extent that the Strategy invests in a limited number of issuers (focused investing), the Strategy will be more susceptible to negative events affecting those issuers and a decline in the value of a particular instrument may cause the Strategy’s overall value to decline to a greater degree than if the Strategy were invested more widely. ESG Strategies that incorporate impact investing and/or Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors could result in relative investment performance deviating from other strategies or broad market benchmarks, depending on whether such sectors or investments are in or out of favor in the market. As a result, there is no assurance ESG strategies could result in more favorable investment performance. China Risk. Investments in securities of Chinese issuers, including A-shares, involve risks associated with investments in foreign markets as well as special considerations not typically associated with investments in the U.S. securities markets. Investments in China involve risk of a total loss due to government action or inaction. Additionally, the Chinese economy is export-driven and highly reliant on trade. Adverse changes to the economic conditions of its primary trading partners, such as the United States, Japan and South Korea, would adversely impact the Chinese economy and the Fund’s investments. Moreover, a slowdown in other significant economies of the world, such as the United States, the European Union and certain Asian countries, may adversely affect economic growth in China. An economic downturn in China would adversely impact the Portfolio’s investments. Risks of Investing through Stock Connect. Any investments in A-shares listed and traded through Stock Connect, or on such other stock exchanges in China which participate in Stock Connect is subject to a number of restrictions that may affect the Portfolio's investments and returns. Moreover, Stock Connect A shares generally may not be sold, purchased or otherwise transferred other than through Stock Connect in accordance with applicable rules. The Stock Connect program may be subject to further interpretation and guidance. There can be no assurance as to the program’s continued existence or whether future developments regarding the program may restrict or adversely affect the Portfolio's investments or returns. Active Management Risk. The Adviser has considerable leeway in deciding which investments to buy, hold or sell, and which trading strategies to use. Such decisions will affect performance. To the extent the Portfolio invests a substantial portion of its assets in the information technology sector, the Portfolio may be particularly impacted by events that adversely affect the sector, and may fluctuate more than that of a portfolio that does not invest significantly in companies in the technology sector. To the extent the Portfolio invests a substantial portion of its assets in the consumer discretionary sector, the Portfolio may be particularly susceptible to the risks associated with companies operating in such sector.

The views and opinions are those of the author as of the date of publication and are subject to change at any time due to market or economic conditions and may not necessarily come to pass. The views expressed do not reflect the opinions of all investment personnel at Morgan Stanley Investment Management (MSIM) and its subsidiaries and affiliates (collectively the Firm”), and may not be reflected in all the strategies and products that the Firm offers.

This material is for the benefit of persons whom the Firm reasonably believes it is permitted to communicate to and should not be forwarded to any other person without the consent of the Firm. It is not addressed to any other person and may not be used by them for any purpose whatsoever. It expresses no views as to the suitability of the investments described herein to the individual circumstances of any recipient or otherwise. It is the responsibility of every person reading this material to fully observe the laws of any relevant country, including obtaining any governmental or other consent which may be required or observing any other formality which needs to be observed in that country.

This material is a general communication, which is not impartial, is for informational and educational purposes only, not a recommendation to purchase or sell specific securities, or to adopt any particular investment strategy. Information does not address financial objectives, situation or specific needs of individual investors.

Any charts and graphs provided are for illustrative purposes only. Any performance quoted represents past performance. Past performance does not guarantee future results. All investments involve risks, including the possible loss of principal.

Prior to making any investment decision, investors should carefully review the strategy’s relevant offering document. For the complete content and important disclosures, refer to the article's PDF.