The Engagement Appeal (“TEA”), a platform for inclusive investor relations, is pleased to announce that it has received endorsements from Essentra PLC (“Essentra”) and ShareAction for its aim. This is the latest milestone in the movement’s endeavour to build a forum for corporates and their retail investors to engage in meaningful dialogue and achieve better representation.
Essentra, a FTSE 250 company, becomes the first corporate to formally back TEA. This business has established various policies to increase inclusiveness, for instance taking on a Board NED Trainee who has gender and ethnic diversity for 12 months. They are then available to find a NED position in the market.
Paul Lester, non-executive chairman of Essentra PLC commented: “At Essentra, we actively practice inclusivity within our business and within our Board too. Backing TEA is an extension of this ethos as we were already seeking methods of engaging with our retail investors in a similar manner as to how we engage with our institutional shareholders. It was a unanimous decision by the Board to support this initiative and we look forward to working with them on how we achieve our objectives.”
ShareAction, a charity set up to promote responsible investment across Europe, works with investors, policymakers and individuals as well as providing resources to benchmark investors. ShareAction is committed to positioning responsibility at the heart of mainstream investment through research, campaigning, policy advocacy and public mobilisation.
Catherine Howarth, chief executive at ShareAction added: “As an organisation committed to driving positive behaviour change in capital markets, ShareAction wants to see more and better interaction between investors and companies. We are delighted to support TEA as we share a common vision of greater inclusivity and dialogue between companies and their shareholders.”
Sheryl Cuisia, co-founder and director of The Engagement Appeal said: “TEA’s objective is to increase interaction between corporates and their retail investors. By improving interaction, the corporates’ investment proposition will be better understood by retail investors and share price will not always be subject to irrational downward pressure. TEA aims to help corporates prepare for greater shareholder participation whilst targeting enhanced financial literacy amongst retail investors and improving their chances of building a successful portfolio.”
