Rathbones anti-slavery engagement push gains support from 154 investors

Fifth year in a row

Rathbones has launched its Votes Against Slavery engagement programme for the fifth consecutive year, securing support from a record 154 investors, representing nearly £2trn in assets under management.

Votes Against Slavery was set up in 2019 to coordinate the response of the investment community on the issue and to provide the necessary accountability for compliance with the UK Modern Slavery Act.  The 2024 engagement, led by the Rathbones stewardship team alongside the PRI Collaboration Platform, targets 158 FTSE AIM smaller companies and FTSE 350 companies failing to publish annually-updated modern slavery statements to their UK websites. Rathbones said the focus on smaller companies was due to the fact they may have "fewer resources to devote to due diligence", making it harder ...