01 Our sustainability approach 02 Sustainable investing 03 Active stewardship 04 Corporate sustainability 05 Appendix 03.8 Transparently managing conflicts of interest Principles 3 7 Our fiduciary duty requires We regularly review existing and new 3. We may sometimes have clients that proxy voting, the Global Proxy Voting us to exercise any rights – business processes, new products and advocate a voting position with respect Committee will convene to evaluate the including engagement – in services, new business relationships and to a proxy vote on a company that we issue, considering information from all the best interest of our clients. internal restructuring measures to ensure view to be inconsistent with the long- relevant sources. we identify conflicts of interest at the term best interests of other clients. • Functional separation – A separation This includes identifying, earliest reasonable opportunity. of processes and management within monitoring and actively and 4. We may invest in a company that is also AllianzGI helps ensure that individuals fairly managing any conflicts We have identified the following major a significant distributor of our products. who are clients or have business of interest that may arise from potential conflicts of interest with respect relationships with the firm are not able to our stewardship activities: Our dedicated governance structure and to exercise improper influence over our our activities. policies and processes for managing proxy voting decisions. Proxy voting 1. AllianzGI is owned by Allianz, a global conflicts of interest in proxy voting and rests entirely with the Investment insurance and financial group whose engagement, including a Conflict of platform in line with pre-defined interests and views may not always Interest Policy which we publish in our oversight procedures. align with what we consider best for Stewardship Statement, comprise the • Training – We have implemented our clients. following elements: employee training designed to prevent 2. Our core business is investment • Global oversight – AllianzGI has perceived or actual conflicts of interests management – managing money and established a Global Proxy Voting from constituting or giving rise to a assets for our clients. Where a client’s Committee to provide oversight of the material risk of damage to the interests fund holds securities in a sponsor proxy voting process. This reports to the of our clients. company, a perceived conflict of interest Investment Executive Committee. • Risk management – To manage may arise if we exercised the proxy • Conflict management – There are potential conflicts in our engagement vote or engaged in topics on behalf of instances when we may not wish to activities, the Risk Management our client which may impact our own vote proxies in strict adherence to our function has developed clear and commercial interests or arrangements. voting guidelines. Where a potential transparent internal escalation material conflict of interest arises guidance. The guidance distinguishes between the company’s interest between non-public and public and those of a client with respect to engagement activities. Allianz Global Investors Sustainability and Stewardship Report 2022 95