Financial System Benchmark | World Benchmarking Alliance (2024)

In terms of its approach towards impact management, Fidelity International acknowledges that its financing activities have both positive and negative impacts. It assigns responsibility for sustainability issues to the board. Further, the financial institution has a gender-balanced board of directors where 44% of members are women and it aims to reach 45% by 2024. Fidelity International publishes a stewardship report where it describes its engagement approach on sustainability themes and impact topics with its investees, including the approach to engagement escalation and an overview of its engagement activities over the past year. The asset manager discloses a list of trade associations of which it is a member including sustainability- and non-sustainability-related organisations.

As a member of Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative Fidelity International has set a target of net-zero financed emissions by 2050. It discloses absolute financed emissions related to its equity and fixed income portfolio. The asset manager is also a member of Climate Action 100+.Further, the financial institution discloses the aggregate amount and share of investments it devotes to green bonds. As a signatory to the Finance for Biodiversity Pledge, Fidelity International is committed to minimising its negative impacts on nature and biodiversity and has set a 2025 target related to the impact of its investments on nature and biodiversity.It provides evidence that it requires some of its investees to have a strategy addressing their nature- and biodiversity-related impacts and that it collectively engages with them on the topic of their nature- and biodiversity-related impacts.

Fidelity International discloses the proportion of women in its total direct operations workforce for each employee category. It alsohas a grievance mechanism accessible to all workers, external individuals and communities to raise human rights complaints or concerns. The asset manager has a policy prohibiting bribery and corruption.

In terms of its approach to senior leadership accountability, Fidelity International could link the remuneration of its executive or management teams to sustainability performance criteria. It also has an opportunity to reach at least 40% female representation in senior leadership positions. Further,the asset manager could disclose the ratio of basic salary and remuneration of women to men in its total direct operations workforce for each employee category.

There is an opportunity for Fidelity International to disclose absolute interim financed emissions reduction targets, rather than intensity-based targets. The asset manager could also disclose whether it aligns its investments in green bonds with internationally recognised frameworks and set a time-bound target for investments in climate solutions.No evidence was found regarding the financial institution’s approach to fossil fuels that spans across the fossil fuel value chain and across its assets under management, such as the amount or share of finance it directs towards fuels, or its stance on financing companies with new fossil fuel projects.

Fidelity International has a publicly available policy statement committing it to respect human rights but it has an opportunity to use stronger language to turn the statement into a formal commitment.The asset manager has an opportunity to describe a comprehensive process for identifying its human rights risks and impacts across all its assets under management.It could also disclose the proportion of its total direct operations workforce for each employee category by age group. To provide transparency on financial inclusivity, Fidelity International has an opportunity to disclose the amount of finance directed towards low-income developing countries.