Duo of global asset managers become ACT Signatories

City Hive has announced that Allspring Global Investments and Pictet Asset Management are the latest asset managers to become ACT Signatories, bringing the total number of firms in the ACT List to 42.

Assets under management run by ACT Signatories now reach GBP13.9 trillion – almost GBP1 trillion growth in AUM since the start of the year. 

Allspring Global Investments is an independent asset management firm with USD624 billion (GBP467.3 billion) in assets under management and advisement, 18 offices globally , and investment teams supported by 365+ investment professionals.

Meanwhile, Pictet Asset Management is a European firm with GBP269 billion in AUM (as at 31 May 2026) held in active, indexed and quant equity, fixed income, multi asset and money market portfolios, run from 18 worldwide locations.

The global nature of these businesses means more clients around the world are benefitting from the enhanced transparency around their culture and values.

Commenting on becoming an ACT Signatory, Andy Sowerby, CEO at Allspring Global Investments (UK), says: “When we established Allspring in 2021, we had a unique opportunity to create our mission, vision and values to help define the company we wanted to become. At the heart of this process was the recognition that a great culture creates a great business which can meet and exceed our clients’ objectives.

“Today we believe we have a differentiated and distinctive firm where all employees work towards a common purpose. In client due diligence we are often asked about our cultural approach and becoming an ACT signatory further increases transparency on how we deliver on our long-term goals. “  

Wendy Appleton, head of sales – UK & Ireland at Pictet Asset Management, says: “Becoming a signatory to ACT is a clear commitment to our clients to foster an inclusive culture at Pictet Asset Management. Our clients are diverse, and we must reflect this in our own organisation, building strong cultural intelligence across the firm. Equally, it is essential that our colleagues feel they truly belong while being able to remain their authentic selves.”

Sophie Kennedy, joint CEO at EQ Investors, which is an ACT Informed firm, and member of the ACT Stewardship Council, says: “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.

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