Read More About Aspect's B Corp Certification
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Our second full year of being a certified B Corporation has been characterised by a continued focus on a number of ongoing CSR initiatives as well as incremental enhancements to our practices to align with objectives originally identified during the certification process itself. Among the key benefits we identified when we first embarked upon the B Impact Assessment back in 2022 were validation that our existing initiatives and practices were in line with industry best practice, and identifying areas for improvement; and it therefore makes sense that the initial post-certification phase of celebrating our success in becoming accredited has given way to a period of consolidation and incremental improvements as we gear up towards re-certification in 2025.
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Aspect Capital Limited (“Aspect”), the USD10.4bn London-based systematic investment manager, announces its certification as a B Corporation (“B Corp”).
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Following on from the announcement of Aspect's certification as a B Corporation our latest AnotherAspect article expands on what B Corp certification means, how it can be obtained, why we decided to seek certification and examines some factors others, particularly in the investment management industry, may wish to consider before seeking certification.
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To celebrate Aspect’s certification staff gathered in the Hub for the Big Brunch. This involved a great selection of B Corp sourced food and drink as well as a display of photo submissions from our recent photo competition. It was followed by a presentation covering what B Corp means to Aspect and how we can improve our scores in the future.
Core Values
At the heart of everything we do is a set of core values shared by every employee for over 20 years. These values define who we are and how we engage and interact, not only with our clients and our people, but also with our business partners, the local community, the environment, the financial markets and society at large.
Client Focussed
Integrity
Fairness
Respect
Collegiate
Community Minded
Love of a Challenge
People
Aspect is committed to treating its employees fairly and with respect, providing a collegiate and challenging working environment in which equal opportunities are provided to all and achievement is fairly rewarded regardless of gender, race, religion, sexuality or social background.
“While gender parity has been an area of focus, we see diversity going much further, looking beyond gender to address cultural and social diversity”
Anthony Todd, Chief Executive Officer
In this video members of our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee talk through some of their proudest moments since the committee started. Examples highlighted include the production of our DE&I internal newsletter, marching in London Pride and the importance and impact of representation across the firm.
Very proud to be part of series 8 of the DiverCity Podcast. Rosie Reynolds joins Julia Streets and CAROL STEWART MSc, FInstLM for an inspiring discussion on the positive contribution apprentices can make to the financial industry, the value of introverted employees and why D&I must remain high on everyone’s agenda as we navigate the new working environment.
Philanthropy
Aspect actively and meaningfully supports charitable causes and not-for-profit groups operating in the UK and around the world. We encourage all employees to do the same. Our Charity Committee is made up entirely of employees and leads the firm's fundraising activity for our charitable partners.
Sponsored Event
Every year, Aspect’s employees vote for a charity to fundraise for during our annual sponsored event. On top of the company wide event, we organise a number of social and sporting events to raise awareness and funds for these incredible causes. From ping pong tournaments and selling home grown vegetables to Santa runs and triathlons, everyone can help!
Employees often volunteer their time and effort to causes close to their heart. Our Charity Committee, recently spent a day at Fareshare in London to help redistribute surplus food to charities that turn it into meals.
Aspect has been committed to supporting a range of ongoing causes since the inception of the business. We encourage employees to get involved with charities they feel passionate about.
Community
Aspect is proud to play an active and positive role in the communities within which we operate.
Julie and Eleanor are among the employees who give their time to support The Access Project. They teach French and Math's respectively to students from disadvantaged backgrounds, providing in-school support and personalised tuition to help the students gain access to top universities.
RedStart aims to put young people in control of their finances, and give them the skills to manage their financial futures. We have been pleased to host a number of sessions.
"All the groups absolutely loved the sessions. The activities were fun and engaging and the context was very motivating for the children. Some valuable money lessons were definitely learnt!"
Louise Foulkes, Teacher at Coleridge Primary School
We recently hosted a workplace insight day with My Big Career for secondary school students. We practiced interview questions, negotiation skills and answered questions in a careers carousel.
Responsible Investment
We aim to incorporate environmental, social and governance factors into our investment decisions where appropriate to do so, and continuously seek to minimise our impact on the financial markets in which we operate.
Aspect is a proud signatory of the UN Principles of Responsible Investment. The PRI defines responsible investment as a strategy and practice to incorporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors in investment decisions and active ownership. Read our Responsible Investment policy here.
“As institutional investors, we have a duty to act in the best long-term interests of our beneficiaries. In this fiduciary role, we believe that ESG issues can affect the performance of our investment portfolios and that we can better align investors with broader objectives of society”
Anthony Todd, Chief Executive Officer
We view our responsibilities as a corporate entity as being intertwined with our responsibilities as an investor. Listen to Rosie Reynolds, Chief Commercial Officer, on social responsibility and sustainable investing.
Governance
Aspect is committed to adhering fully with all rules, regulations and codes of conduct to which it is subject, and where appropriate will act as a standard-setter in complying with applicable voluntary codes and industry best-practice.
UK Stewardship Code
Aspect is committed to the UK Financial Reporting Council’s Stewardship Code. Read our commitment here.
Anti Slavery and Tax Strategy
Modern slavery means offences of servitude, slavery, forced or compulsory labour and human trafficking. Aspect does not tolerate these activities in any part of its own business or its supply chain. Read our statement here.
Aspect Capital falls within the Senior Accounting Officer regime. Read Aspect Capital's tax strategy here.
Governance
As part of our governance board, our independent non-executive director provides support for executive directors on key business issues as well as reviewing and challenging the strategic direction of the company.
Environment
Aspect firmly believes in respecting the environment and proactively seeks to reduce its environmental impact. We aim to offset all carbon emissions generated by the firm's travel, including the commutes of employees. Employees are also encouraged to play their part by recycling, avoiding unnecessary printing or by using our reusable mugs, lunch boxes and shopping bags for their daily trips to the local shops.
We support Baker Street Quarter, our local business improvement district (BID) who aim to help local businesses to implement collective environmental initiatives such as a shared recycling programme which helps to reduce traffic and emissions in the area.
For the 2023 financial year, we once again offset 110% of our carbon footprint. For the third year in a row we invested in the Rimba Raya Peatland Protection project, a biodiversity project in Borneo which is protecting the land and working with local communities to contribute to all 17 of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, which we do via Earthly, a fellow B Corp.
In order to calculate an appropriate level of carbon offsetting, we categorise our energy usage into Scopes 1, 2 and 3 as defined by the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol, the most widely used international accounting tool.
Click here to see our energy usage for the year ended 31 December 2023.
We are pleased to share that 10 Portman Square received a BREEAM In-Use rating of Excellent. BREEAM is the world's leading certification system aimed at improving a building's asset performance and achieving sustainability goals.