AllianzGI’s global collaboration system enables investment professionals to share files, external reports and research notes in a structured and fully searchable manner. By enhancing the flow and transparency of investment-related information, we make monitoring of investee companies more efficient, and maximise the benefits of our global resources to the advantage of our clients. Furthermore, our investment professionals have daily interactions and open engagement in regional morning meetings, strategy meetings, investment committees etc. where they discuss emerging news and its possible impact on issuers both within client portfolios and within the watch list of preferred issuers. We support the development of corporate governance best practice standards aimed at helping companies to prevent governance failures that can result in value destruction. We expect all companies to consider the risks that such codes of best practice seek to address, and to either adopt respective recommendations or develop and disclose alternative arrangements that are equally effective but may be more appropriate for the business. AllianzGI, therefore, supports the “comply or explain” principle, and our research and investment professionals give careful consideration to all explanations of departures from respective codes of best practice. As an active investment manager, we may from time to time receive material non-public information from companies or their advisers (eg, through “market soundings” of potential transactions in a company’s securities). The default position of AllianzGI is that we wish to avoid receiving such information, because it makes us an “insider” and therefore restricts our ability to trade shares of the relevant company. However, from time to time, we may selectively decide to participate in a market sounding or similar event and thus receive what may be deemed material non-public information. This decision can only be made by the Global Head of Investments, regional and asset-class Chief Investment Officers, Heads of Trading or a senior investment professional at AllianzGI to whom one of these individuals has delegated authority. We have designed and implemented policies and procedures to ensure that in such situations we comply with all relevant laws and regulations governing the possession and restricting the use of material non-public information. AllianzGI Stewardship Statement 9
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