The Engaged Market: 2026 State of Stewardship
The 2026 State of Stewardship report finds that investor stewardship in Aotearoa New Zealand is improving — and increasingly focused on outcomes that matter.
About this year's report
An Engaged Market is the third annual State of Stewardship report from the Aotearoa New Zealand Stewardship Code. It analyses stewardship reporting submitted by Code signatories for the 2025 calendar year, identifies themes across the market, and provides practical guidance to support continued improvement.
As the basics of voting and disclosure become embedded as standard practice, the New Zealand market is moving towards the frontier of what leading stewardship looks like globally — deeper engagement with companies, active policy advocacy, and collaborative action on systemic risks.
Key findings
19 stewardship reports were published by signatories in 2025, up from 16 the previous year
~$3.8 trillion in assets under management globally across Code signatories
12% of resolutions were voted against management, with convergence between NZ-based and international signatories — a notable narrowing of the gap from 2024
58% of signatories disclosed an escalation framework, reflecting a more sophisticated understanding of stewardship as a multi-stage process
42% of signatories referenced te ao Māori in their reporting, with a growing number connecting it directly to investment thinking
A first-of-its-kind New Zealand-focused domestic climate collaborative engagement was led by Milford and Pathfinder, in partnership with the Investor Group on Climate Change
Practical guidance for signatories
This year's report includes two pieces of practical guidance to support signatories in strengthening their stewardship practice:
Guidance on Stewardship Policies — what a good stewardship policy should cover, regardless of the size of the organisation
Guidance on Proxy Voting Policies — developed in collaboration with Glass Lewis, with practical reflections on what responsible voting looks like in practice
Case studies
The report highlights areas of strong practice from across the 2025 reporting cohort:
Conflicts of Interest — Amova Global Stewardship Report
Oversight of Third Parties — Trust Investments Ethical Investment Update & Stewardship Report
Engagement — NZ Super Fund Stewardship Report
Voting — Fisher Funds Stewardship Report
About the Aotearoa New Zealand Stewardship Code
The Aotearoa New Zealand Stewardship Code is a framework that guides investors on how to use their influence to steer the companies they own on critical environmental, social and corporate governance issues. It is one of more than 20 stewardship codes globally, and is supported by 20 signatories representing the majority of New Zealand's investment industry.
The Code is co-hosted by the Centre for Sustainable Finance — Toitū Tahua and the Responsible Investment Association Australasia (RIAA).
To learn more about becoming a signatory to the Code, contact info@stewardshipcode.nz