2026
ACT Signatory Members

Foreword by Sophie Kennedy, CEO at EQ Investors and member of the ACTStewardship Council

When ACT began, the case for putting culture at the heart of stewardship was an argument we had to make. Today it is increasingly something the industry takes for granted, and that shift is reflected in the both the existing and new signatory firms.

As an allocator of client capital, I see the difference culture makes from the other side of the table. The managers we hold the most conviction in are rarely just those with the strongest recent numbers. They are the ones whose values are lived rather than promoted; where the way a firm treats its people, its clients and its decisions hold up under scrutiny. Over time, that is what sustains performance, and it is what protects clients.

Becoming an ACT Signatory is a public statement that a firm is willing to be held to that standard. The asset managers joining the framework this year are not signing up to a marketing exercise; they are committing to genuine transparency about who they are and how they operate. For those of us responsible for selecting funds, that commitment is invaluable, it gives us a shared language for conversations that, only a few years ago, were far harder to have.

At EQ Investors, we have always believed that doing right by clients and building a durable business are the same task, not competing ones. It is heartening to see that conviction shared by a growing community of Signatories.

To the firms joining ACT in 2026: welcome. We are glad you are here, and we look forward to the work ahead.