Key Takeaways:
- Asset managers are shifting away from collective stewardship initiatives to more targeted, one-to-one engagement with companies.
- Stewardship is maturing from focusing on broad thematic topics, to performance and investment outcomes.
- Governance, strategy, and climate remain the top priorities for engagement.
Stewardship is hardly a new concept for asset managers, but its interpretation and execution continue to evolve. Once largely defined by broader collaboration, stewardship is increasingly being refined toward investment outcomes and accountability.
According to Russell Investments’ research, money managers are increasingly stepping away from collaborative engagements, with just over half now participating, down from 66% last year.
Collaboration Engagements Drop Off
Overall collaboration engagements fall, with the U.S. and APAC showing the lowest participation levels
Source: 11th Annual Manager Sustainable Investing Survey
A greater proportion of U.S. money managers reported not partaking in collaborative stewardship engagements. Managers in continental Europe and the United Kingdom retain a strong preference in participating, in contrast to APAC regions.
Engagement Activities on ESG
More than 90% of meetings with management occasionally or always discuss ESG
Question: ESG Engagement coverage/extent (never/rarely vs cover all meetings/holdings).
Source: Russell Investments Sustainable Investing Survey 2025
According to our findings, direct engagement now dominates managers’ stewardship activity. Many report covering ESG topics across all company meetings, ensuring that governance, climate, and long-term strategic alignment remain at the top of the agenda.
Governance, strategy, and climate were ranked as the top three priorities for engagement. Managers report that discussions increasingly focus on board oversight, transition planning, and corporate resilience, rather than broad thematic statements. This shift highlights a maturing approach — one that links stewardship activity directly to company performance and investment outcomes.
Who Conducts Engagement Activities?
Non-senior investment professions are contributing more to engagements
Question: Who conducts engagements (senior investors, ESG team, others, outsourced).
Source: Russell Investments Sustainable Investing Survey 2025
ESG teams remain central to engagement execution, but there is also a rise in senior investment professionals leading or co-leading dialogues, which signals stronger integration of stewardship within the core investment process.
The Bottom Line
Stewardship is becoming more selective, accountable, and investment driven. For asset owners, the focus in on having verifiable impact, where effective engagement is evidenced and tied to investment outcomes.
As broad coalitions give way to targeted, one-to-one dialogue, success will depend on the quality of engagement and the credibility of follow-through.
If you would like to learn about Russell Investments’ approach to stewardship and manager research process, please get in touch.
Sustainable Investing Research Insights: