Sustainable Investment

TD Asset Management represents TD Asset Management Inc., which operates in Canada and TD Asset Management (US), Inc., which operates in the United States. Each entity maintains its own investment approach as it relates to the consideration of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors.

We focus on ESG-related issues that may impact the long-term value of an investment.

TD Asset Management Inc.'s Approach

Sustainable investing is an approach to investing that considers material ESG factors within the investment decision-making process of a fund as well as our firm-level stewardship activities. Our approach to sustainable investing aligns with its philosophy of serving its securityholders’ investment goals while adhering to its fiduciary duty as an asset manager.

Compatible with our goal of seeking to provide risk adjusted returns, we believe that it is important to consider material ESG factors as part of our investment processes. For more information on ESG integration across our investment teams, please refer to TD Asset Management Inc.'s ESG Integration Policy TD Asset Management Inc.'s Annual Sustainable Investment and Climate Report.

Our approach to sustainable investing is also exhibited through stewardship practices, including engagement and proxy voting. Stewardship allows TD Asset Management Inc. to use its investor ownership rights to create an open dialogue with portfolio companies on financially material issues, including ESG. The firm's stewardship approach is implemented as part of its overall firm-level aggregated processes and serves as an avenue to both develop a better understanding of a company and to allow us to convey our views to the company's board and management. For more information, please see the TD Asset Management Inc. Stewardship Policy and TD Asset Management Inc. Proxy Voting Policy.

TD Asset Management (US), Inc. Approach

TD Asset Management (US), Inc 's approach is to consider ESG factors in a manner that is consistent with our fiduciary obligation to act in the best interests of our clients. As part of our investment process on behalf of clients, we assess whether ESG factors may have a material impact on either investment risk or return. We believe that:

Sustainable free cash flow generation and the effective allocation of capital drive long-term value creation. These, together with price and risk, determine risk-adjusted return.
Good corporate governance is essential to ensure that companies are effectively managed with the goal of creating long-term economic value for their investors.
The financial materiality of ESG factors often varies by industry, country, and company. Under our ESG Policy, we consider ESG factors which may impact returns and risk for our clients and engage with management teams on financially material ESG issues.

For more information, please see the TD Asset Management (US), Inc. ESG Policy and TD Asset Management (US), Inc. Proxy Voting Policy

Our Dedicated Teams

Our dedicated Sustainable Investment Teams support our investment teams with ESG research, ESG integration and stewardship efforts.

Priti Shokeen, PhD

Managing Director, Head of Sustainable Investment, TD Asset Management Inc.
Ravi Varghese

Director, Head of Sustainable Investing, TD Asset Management (US), Inc.

ESG Integration

We strive for an integrated ESG engagement process for our investment products. We proactively evolve as ESG data matures, materiality comes into focus, and regulatory frameworks expand market awareness. Under this approach, material ESG factors are reviewed alongside traditional investment criteria. Implications arise if an ESG factor changes the intended risk or return profile of an investment.

ESG Resources

For a greater understanding of specific ESG topics, browse and read through our detailed resources, including frameworks and in-depth reporting.

View all Resources

Alternatives
Equities
Fixed Income
Multi-Asset

The TD Greystone Infrastructure (Global Master) LP's strategy seeks to be a leader in sustainable infrastructure investing. Due to the long-life span of infrastructure assets, we systematically consider ESG factors in our processes. We believe that our sustainability strategy is aligned with our culture that focuses on risk management, disciplined processes, sustainable returns and creating mutually beneficial solutions for our clients and our key stakeholders.

For additional information on how the TD Greystone Infrastructure Fund integrates ESG factors throughout its investment lifecycle, please see the publicly available 'TD Greystone Global Infrastructure Fund: Environment, Social, and Governance Procedures' document.

The TDAM Global Real Estate Fund's strategy aspires to integrate best-in-class sustainability practices in all our real estate investment and portfolio management processes, including, acquisitions, developments, asset management, capital planning and ongoing operations.

Sustainability includes how the Global Real Estate team considers environmental and social impacts and performance in decision making, and how the team governs and manages itself to fulfill its commitments.
For additional information on how the Global Real Estate Fund integrates ESG factors throughout its investment processes and long-term objectives, please see the publicly available 'TD Greystone Global Real Estate Fund: Environment, Social, and Governance Procedures' document.

The TD Greystone Mortgage Fund integrates ESG best practices into its processes to enhance risk-adjusted returns, to play its part in responsible investing, and to raise ESG awareness in the market. Moreover, investments in sustainability can improve real estate marketability to environmentally and socially conscious tenants and enhance operational efficiency by reducing utility and insurance costs, which benefits the tenant, the landlord and ultimately the lender.

The TD Greystone Mortgage Fund has developed a multi-faceted approach to incorporating ESG into its underwriting and portfolio management practices, including via its borrower survey and annual ESG review.

For additional information on how the TD Greystone Mortgage Fund integrates ESG factors throughout its investment lifecycle, please see its publicly available 'Mortgage Strategy Sustainability Procedures' document.

Our Fundamental Equity team integrates ESG factors as relevant into their investment analysis. The process for incorporating these factors into decision-making is essentially threefold, involving the following central components: systematic ESG reviews, thematic ESG research and active ownership.

Systematic ESG Reviews
We believe that ESG issues should be given consideration as they provide us with a more robust view of potential risks and opportunities. We look at a number of ESG indicators that we believe apply to all industry sectors and elevate any issues that could put a company’s expected earnings at risk. We strive to incorporate relevant ESG assessment in research reports, ensuring concerns around ESG risk exposures are reviewed, updated and evaluated by our sector analysts. Although we augment our work with information from third parties, including sell-side brokerage firms as well as ESG data providers, we consider conducting our own review and assessment a key part of the process.
Thematic ESG Research
We produce broad thematic ESG research on topics that have the potential to highly impact the companies in which we invest. We have found this to be the best way to highlight the structural changes to various sectors and impacts to the companies themselves.
Active Ownership
Our in-depth research helps inform our commitment to active ownership. We strive to be active owners by engaging with the companies, in which we invest and by taking advantage of our voting rights to help drive long-term shareholder value. Our intent is to both improve corporate ESG disclosures as well as improve companies' ESG-related practices.
Engagement
Our engagement activities serve as a central input to our investment analysis, and we use our in-depth research to prioritize engagement efforts. Incorporating ESG data and ratings into our processes has allowed us to refine our ESG engagement plan and has provided for more informed discussions with management teams leading to improvements to our assessments of quality. Our sector analysts regularly meet with company management teams and discuss applicable ESG issues, goals, and emerging trends in addition to broader investment relevant topics. Findings are internalized and integrated into our investment analysis.
Proxy Voting
We vote on proposals that involve ESG issues on a case-by-case basis. ESG research is incorporated within our process impacting both management and shareholder proposals where relevant.

At TD Epoch, we believe that the best approach to ESG integration is to complement the fundamental investment team with a dedicated ESG team. Our ESG integration efforts revolve around three main pillars:

Research: We focus on sector/company-specific materiality. We combine the bottom-up ESG research led by fundamental analysts with more thematic research by our Sustainable Investing team.

Engagement: We engage with our holding to better understand companies' strategies with regards to ESG considerations, and where necessary, advocate that companies address material issues.

Stewardship: We conduct a wide range of stewardship activities to ensure the best outcomes for our clients. Proxy voting is a major component of our stewardship, aimed at delivering long-term shareholder value.

While holdings within our passive strategies are guided by the relevant indices that they replicate, we continue to evolve our analyses to comprehensively advance sustainability across all portfolios. Passive strategies benefit from the firm's direct and collaborative engagements on ESG issues, the ESG-relevant research incorporated into our proxy voting, and the dialogue we continue to have with regulatory bodies, stock exchanges and other stakeholders on ESG matters.

Our Credit Research team evaluates ESG factors as part of a comprehensive credit review process for both corporate and government issuers. In addition to evaluating the financial strength of issuers, an ESG assessment is conducted for every issuer included on the TDAM credit approved list. To gain a complete picture of a company's credit quality, the team also engages management to understand how issuers are addressing material ESG exposures. Our credit research and issuer engagement inform both our internal credit ratings as well as an ESG-specific score. Our analysis is continually updated and incorporated into sector analyst reports to TDAM's Credit Committee.

ESG Credit Review & Exposure scores
Each sector analyst focuses on the potential short-term and long-term risks associated with ESG factors, and the possible impact they could have on TDAM's internal credit rating. Several ESG dynamics are weighed and factored into an internal ESG Credit Exposure Score.
We have built out a database of ESG Credit Exposure Scores for every issuer on our approved lists to ensure ESG risks are properly identified, characterized, and calibrated in our analysis across fixed income portfolios. We use a variety of sources to inform these scores, incorporating ESG data from credit rating agencies, third-party ESG data providers, and independent international organizations. ESG topics of focus depend on the sector, with our areas of focus guided by well-established ESG materiality frameworks. Sector experts use these resources alongside sector expertise to assign ESG scores.
Issuer Engagement
We regularly meet with officials from the companies and governments in which we invest or consider for potential investment. Discussion of ESG dynamics is a component of these engagements, with credit analysts elevating inquiries on ESG issues that might have a material impact on our internal credit ratings.
ESG Credit Committee
With the increasing awareness of ESG risks and the in-depth discussions required, we have also created an ESG Credit sub-committee. This committee meets on a quarterly basis, with more material and cross-sector ESG topics filling their agenda.

The TD Asset Management Private Debt team evaluates ESG factors through the same process as TD Asset Management Active Fixed Income.

We evaluate ESG factors as part of a comprehensive credit review process for all issuers, with an ESG assessment conducted for every issuer. This is further subject to an annual review by the TDAM Credit Committee throughout the life of the issuance.

ESG Credit Review & Exposure scores
The Private Debt team follows the same process as TD Asset Management Active Fixed Income. TDAM's Private Debt investments are generally held for the long-term and we evaluate the ESG risks within that context.
Issuer Engagement
Private Debt transactions do not have the same quality or quantity of ESG data that is available for public market issuers. As such, Private Debt relies heavily on direct engagements with issuers to formulate its ESG perspectives. The Private Debt team uses the opportunity to engage directly with issuers pre-transaction to ask ESG questions and gather as much ESG data as possible in the due diligence phase.
ESG Credit Committee
The Private Debt team works in conjunction with TD Asset Management Active Fixed Income and has strong representation on this quarterly committee.

The Institutional Asset Allocation Team seeks to add value through a multi-disciplined analytical framework, incorporating fundamental and technical analysis. From a fundamental perspective, the team continuously analyzes economic, policy and market expectations and leverages off insights from the broader asset allocation research and strategy teams along with the Wealth Asset Allocation Committee.

Our approach combines three decades of asset allocation experience with new thinking directed at improving investment outcomes for our clients. Our extensive history of integrating private and public investments has fostered a firm understanding of how they trade in relation to each other, and ultimately how multi-asset portfolios can be built to enhance risk adjusted returns.

We tailor the structure of your solution based on your program’s unique needs. It could involve creating a strategic asset mix that help meets your unique needs, investing alongside our pooled fund offerings, or a combination of both. Our Relationship Managers and Asset Allocation team are available to help assess and recommend the best solution for you.

At TD Asset Management Inc. (TDAM), we believe managing assets on behalf of insurance companies and pension plans requires special skills. Institutional investors are often faced with a myriad of constraints and unique considerations. It can feel like a complex and changing process influenced by a variety of factors, such as an investing landscape that has experienced elevated inflation, episodic market volatility, shifting demographics and an evolving regulatory environment. We have been helping our liability focused clients meet their objectives since 1994. Our approach to ALM combines our disciplined investment process with our actuarial expertise and robust analytics tools, to develop an objective-based solution that helps clients achieve their investment goals with greater confidence. Our solutions are inspired by innovation, strengthened by experience, and validated by results.

Sustainable Investment

TD Asset Management Inc.'s Approach

TD Asset Management (US), Inc. Approach

Our Dedicated Teams

ESG Integration

ESG Resources

TD Greystone Infrastructure

TD Greystone Real Estate

TD Greystone Mortgage Investments

TD Asset Management Fundamental Equities

TD Epoch Free Cash Flow and Data Enhanced Equities

TD Structured Passive Equities

TD Asset Management Active Fixed Income

TD Structured Passive Fixed Income

TD Asset Management Private Debt

Asset Allocation

Asset Liability Management