Nomura Asset Management ESG Statement
1. Corporate and Fiduciary Responsibility
At Nomura Asset Management, we believe the essence of our business lies in providing
high quality products and investment solutions that meet the performance and service
expectations of our clients. As a fiduciary asset manager, we strive to ensure our business
contributes broadly to the development of society by abiding by high ethical standards,
building a deep, trusting relationship with our clients, and seeking sound business operations.
We seek to realize a sustainable, prosperous society in which the rich natural environmentis preserved, diverse human capital is utilized, economy development is driven bytechnological innovation, human rights are respected, and well-being is promoted. It is asociety in which ESG※1 issues are addressed and the SDGs※2 are achieved.
We recognize that it is important for companies to properly manage the risks related to
ESG issues, and to view the resolution of ESG issues as new business opportunities andappropriately reflect them in management strategies. We believe that these actions areessential factor to drive investment returns. Based on the recognition, we work to resolve
ESG issues as a responsible investor to fulfill our fiduciary duties, while promoting business
operations that emphasize ESG in order to realize a sustainable, prosperous society throughthe virtuous cycle of investment.
※1

ESG stands for Environmental, Social, and Governance.

※2

SDGs stand for the Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the United Nations in2015 as a call for action for all countries to achieve by 2030.

2. High Priority ESG Issues
There are various ESG issues that companies should address from the perspectives ofrisks and business opportunities in order to achieve sustainable improvement of corporatevalue. Though the importance of specific ESG issues varies depending on the businesscharacteristics of each company, we have identified the following ESG issues as those ofparticularly high priority that are common to many companies.
●Climate Change
Corporate value is significantly affected by both risks and opportunities related to climatechange. The risks include those accompanying the transition to a carbon-free society such1

as carbon pricing, stranded assets, and changes in consumer preferences, as well as
physical risks such as extreme weather caused by greenhouse gas. Meanwhile, business
opportunities exist in areas like technological innovation and new products and services tomitigate or address climate change. The Paris Agreement, which was concluded in 2015 as
the shared global response to climate change, stipulates that efforts shall be made to limit
the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2℃, and preferably to 1.5℃. To
achieve this goal, it is necessary to reach net zero global greenhouse gas emissions by 2050,
based on scientific evidence. We believe that companies must address climate change
issues from the perspective of both risk management and the pursuit of business
opportunities in order to achieve sustainable improvement of corporate value.
●Natural CapitalCompanies benefit from biodiversity through the utilization of forests, water sources, andother natural capital in their business activities. However, the impairment of natural capitalbrought about by human activities has become a serious problem, from the pollution of seas,
rivers, air, and soil to deforestation. Overdevelopment, overfishing, and destruction of natural
habitats continue to drive the loss of biodiversity. We believe that companies must exercise
proper risk management in relation to activities that could negatively impact natural capitaland biodiversity, as well as pursue business opportunities in the preservation of natural
capital and biodiversity.
●Human Rights
Corporate business activities involve a large number of people including employees andlocal residents, which is even larger when the supply chain is considered. Companies areexpected to exercise proper risk management to ensure that their activities do not infringe
upon human rights, and there have been moves to introduce legislation requiring companies
to perform human rights due diligence. We believe that companies must exercise humanrights due diligence and other forms of proper human rights risk management in order toachieve sustainable improvement of corporate value.
●Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging
By developing and maximizing the value of human capital, companies can sustainably

improve their corporate value. We believe that companies must build a workforce made upof people with diverse values without regard to factors such as gender, nationality, race, orage, provide fair opportunities for their employees and cultivate a corporate culture thatembraces diversity and inclusion. Furthermore, we believe in the importance of fostering ashared sense of purpose for the sustainable enhancement of corporate value among
management and employees, as well as a sense of unity.

2

●Value Creation to Realize Well-Being Within Society
Well-being refers to a state in which all people can seek their own happiness and lead ahealthy life. Realizing well-being within society will also lead to the achievement of SDGs.
Well-being within society can be realized by addressing social issues in a variety of fields,
forexample,healthandsafety(accesstonutritionandmedicalservices,health/hygiene/safety management, etc.), education and intelligence (artificial intelligence(AI), disruptive innovation), and regional revitalization (access to financial services, accessto communication technologies, etc.). In our view, the development and provision of products
and services that contribute to addressing these social issues represents important business
opportunities for companies, which could lead to sustainable improvement of corporate value.
●Corporate GovernanceCorporate governance is a structure for transparent, fair, timely and decisive decision-making by companies. In our view, decisions are transparent if a company’s management isaccountable for them and fair if the interests of management are aligned with the interests ofshareholders and other stakeholders. When these requirements are met, the board ofdirectors can properly delegate its management execution authority to management, andmanagement can then make decisions in a timely and decisive manner. From thisperspective, the board of directors is responsible for the supervision of management, andnominations, compensation, and audits are the means to ensure the board fulfills its role. We
believe that companies must strengthen corporate governance so that their management
can properly manage various risks including the ESG issues mentioned above, whilepursuing business opportunities to achieve sustainable improvement of corporate value.
3. Our Initiatives
Stewardship activities: Through our stewardship activities, including proxy voting andconstructive dialogue (engagement), we encourage the management of investee
companies to manage risks and pursue business opportunities that are associated withESG issues and also to disclose information in accordance with relevant internationalinitiatives.

Business opportunities: We focus particularly on the realization of well-being withinsociety when viewing business opportunities associated with ESG issues. We
encourage investee companies to properly incorporate the realization of well-being
within society into their management strategies and to quantify outcomes and disclose
them together with the relevant targets.

Investment decisions: We assess our investee companies’ initiatives to address ESG
issues based on our own standards from the perspectives of both risks and opportunities
and incorporate the results in our investment decisions. Our assessment that a3

company’s initiatives to address ESG issues are insufficient, which may prevent
sustainable improvement of its corporate value, and cannot be corrected throughengagement, may result in divestment or exclusion from the investment universe.
We believe that addressing ESG issues through engagement is more desirable thandivestment. For example, greenhouse gas emissions reduction in response to climatechange should be considered from the perspective of the whole supply chain, not limited
to specific industries and companies. We recognize that environmental and social issues
are interconnected and “trade-offs” may be required as addressing one issue may resultin other ESG issues arising. For this reason, we believe that it is important for us tocontinue engagement with our investee companies and various stakeholders toencourage the entire supply chain to properly manage ESG-related risks and work toaddress ESG issues.
 Monitoring: We monitor the status of ESG issues in our investment portfolio inaccordance with relevant international initiatives. For example, we monitor greenhousegas emissions based on the final report published by the Task Force on Climate-related
Financial Disclosures (TCFD) in 2017.
 Our activities: We recognize that business activities that take into account social value
creation are important elements for realizing a sustainable and prosperous society. We
strive to contribute to asset formation by offering investment products and services that
help to address ESG issues. We also proactively seek to expand the investment basethrough measures such as financial education. Toward the early realization of a carbonfree society, we are working to achieve net zero GHG emissions at our offices andpromoting the use of eco-friendly and socially conscious products to conserve naturalcapital. To strengthen DEI&B within the company, we continue to work on thedevelopment and promotion of female employees in order to increase the ratio of womenin management positions, and we promote greater awareness among employees
through training related to unconscious bias and other topics. In addition, by creating apleasant work environment that accommodates diverse work styles, we will foster a
corporate culture that maximizes the abilities of each employee.
 Initiatives: We participate in international initiatives and actively embrace accepted
standards and norms. For example, we support the final report on climate change
published by the TCFD and the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights
endorsed by the UN Human Rights Council in 2011. Through these initiatives, we conductengagement jointly with other institutional investors and share best practices by actively
4cooperating with a wide range of stakeholders including asset owners and government
officials.
4. Governance and Information Disclosure for ESG Promotion
At Nomura Asset Management, important decisions on management execution including
this Statement are made by the Executive Management Committee, which consists of senior
executives (executive directors and executive officers selected by executive directors) towhom the proper authority has been delegated by the board of directors. We fully recognize
the importance of ESG issues for company management and have established theInvestment Policy Committee and the Responsible Investment Committee as the highestdecision-making bodies in investment decisions and responsible investment to address ESG
issues within a proactive and systematic framework. We have also established the Conflictof Interest Management Policy as well as a Responsible Investment Council and a FundBusiness Operation Council, which have oversight for our responsible investment activities
and products to ensure their appropriateness and validity.
To properly ensure our accountability, we actively disclose information on our initiatives
outlined in 3. above. More specifically, we have established our material issues and policies
on initiatives undertaken by the investment management and research divisions andregularly prepare stewardship activity reports, all of which are made available for public
inspection on our website. We also disclose our initiatives on the ESG issues listed in 2.
above in accordance with relevant international initiatives.
Our corporate philosophy requires that we “maximize added value,” “pursue advancedexpertise,” and “earn confidence and contribute to society.” Therefore, in addition to ourapproach to the companies in which we invest, we will continue to strengthen our own
governance and information disclosure to contribute to a sustainable society through ourasset management business.

5. Revision
To appropriately reflect changes in the external environment and our approach to
stakeholder engagement, we will review this statement as necessary.

（Revised on December 15, 2022）（Revised on December 30, 2021）（Enacted on March 11, 2019）5