UK-based asset manager Rathbones has secured support from 154 investors with £1.99 trillion under management for its engagement campaign targeting FTSE companies failing to comply with disclosure requirements under the Modern Slavery Act. The 2024 iteration of the ‘Votes Against Slavery’ campaign is led by Rathbones’ stewardship team and co-ordinated through the Principles for Responsible Investment’s collaboration platform. It will target 158 FTSE AIM smaller listed companies and FTSE 350 companies which fail to comply with Section 54 disclosure requirements. “According to the latest figures from the United Nations, more than 50 million people are still trapped in some form of modern slavery,” said Archie Pearson, ESG and Stewardship Analyst and Voting Lead at Rathbones. “Over the past five years we have targeted companies across the market cap spectrum which were not compliant with Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act. In 2023, 27 0f 29 companies we engaged with became compliant, but there is much more to be done, including strengthening the powers of the Act, which is the goal of our joint policy engagement with the Home Office.” Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act requires companies to publish annually updated modern slavery statements to their UK websites.
