Duo of global asset managers become ACT Signatories
City Hive is delighted to announce 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 £13.9trn - almost £1trn growth in AUM since the start of the year.
Allspring Global Investments is an independent asset management firm with $624bn (£467.3bn) 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 £269bn 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), said: “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, commented “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, commented: “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.”
Read Sophie’s full foreword to the ACT List 2026 here.
The ACT List 2026 H2
(dates in brackets are when Signatories joined)
Please note a number of the ACT Signatories have been subject to merger and acquisition activity.
Notes:
The ACT Corporate Culture Standard is a disclosure framework that is providing a standardised way for investment companies to understand, create and progress cultural change - and be able to communicate progress effectively via reporting. The Signatory firms are contributing to a growing body of data on firm approaches and industry practice.
The ACT Stewardship Council of fund gatekeepers (responsible for over £2trn in assets under advice, which monitor firms joining or leaving the list), is looking forward to seeing which firms commit to be the first 50 Founding Signatories.
Signatories on The ACT List have committed to:
Annually completing ACT reporting on the DOOR platform, enabling the Framework to be used as a tool to assess, measure and catalyse progress on culture.
Senior accountability towards policy, action and practice that supports alignment of internal values and external commitments relating to inclusive culture.
Demonstrable evidence that value creation and stewardship of wealth is in responsible hands because they are a responsible business.
Embracing the opportunity to share ACT disclosures with clients, share ACT status and the ACT Mark with stakeholders via media, website, factsheets etc.
Update progress (at least) annually.
ACT Informed is a new recognition designed to help investment organisations demonstrate how culture and behaviour are incorporated into governance, oversight and decision making.
For more information on ACT, interview opportunities and photos please email: nataliekenway@cityhive.co.uk or visit the new City Hive Press Centre.
For more information on ACT: https://www.investorsact.com/
Or for the Stewardship Council: https://www.investorsact.com/stewardship-council
For more information on City Hive: https://www.cityhive.co.uk/
CEO Letter
At the time of launching ACT in 2022, City Hive wrote to over 100 fund group CEOs to say investment firms are neglecting to support their most valuable assets, their employees, and asking them if they want to be the leader that is forced to make changes, or the leader that is part of the solution investing in creating a long-term, positive, impact on the industry. The full letter can be viewed here.
The ACT Framework is comprised of three key pillars, each with three components:
