Impact Through Diversity and Inclusion
We are dedicated to fostering, cultivating, and preserving a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion.
Diversity is at the core of our guiding principles at Channing Capital Management, LLC (“Channing”), and we are committed to fostering, cultivating and preserving a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion. Diversity is the underpinning of our competitive excellence and drives our ability to make better, more informed decisions that account for differences in backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences. Diversity of thought drives results and gives us the ability to make more informed decisions for our stakeholders.
Since inception, Channing has embraced and encouraged our employees’ differences, prioritizing equitable inclusion of people of all gender identities, sexual orientation, ages, races, ethnicities, national origins, cultures, religious or political beliefs, languages, socioeconomic backgrounds, veteran status, and disabilities.
Channing also complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a federal law that extends certain rights to individuals with disabilities and provides for nondiscrimination in the terms and conditions of employment and the provision of reasonable accommodation for qualified individuals with disabilities.
Diversity initiatives are applicable to all our practices on recruitment and hiring, compensation and benefits, professional development and training, promotions, and creating an overall fair and equitable work environment.
Therefore, Channing is committed to:
- Providing an inclusive work environment which encourages and fosters appropriate conduct and respect for individuals. All employees have the responsibility to treat one other with dignity and respect at all times. Any ethnic, racial, religious, sexual, or any other type of harassment is strictly prohibited
- Supporting open communication and cooperation between all employees, welcoming and encouraging people with a variety of backgrounds and perspectives to share their viewpoints
- Maintaining its consistent track record of recruiting a diverse pool of candidates each year and providing opportunities for career development, education and training throughout their careers
- Drafting fair and standard policies across all professional development and training programs to ensure we are fostering an equitable and inclusive culture
- Supporting all stakeholders to promote a greater understanding of diversity which includes contributions to the local community
- Making a good-faith effort to use third-party vendors who are owned and / or managed by female founders or minorities
- Conducting a diversity, equity and inclusion awareness training for all employees on an annual basis
Impact Through ESG
Environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) factor analysis is complementary to the fundamental research we perform on each investment idea.
Strategy Overview
Channing’s investment philosophy focuses on well-managed, quality, yet misunderstood companies that are undervalued over an average 2-3 year holding period. Therefore, as the company seeks to invest in business models that are best-in-class, that philosophy aligns well with environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) practices. Channing Capital has established an ESG framework for reviewing material risks and opportunities that is complementary to the team’s overall fundamental analysis. We conduct research in-house on ESG factors deemed material for a given investment based on publicly available information including corporate social responsibility (“CSR”) reports, website content and other public filings and review 3rd party ratings to identify any key risks as part of our due diligence.
Incorporating ESG Into The Diligence Process
Channing primarily relies upon its analysts and portfolio managers to conduct proprietary ESG research in-house, including the review of 3rd party ratings, weighing the material factors for a given company and industry, and engaging with Management to discuss these key risk factors to make more informed investment decisions. For those companies that face material ESG risks, we engage with Management teams to better understand how they are addressing these risks and monitor progress over time. ESG factor analysis is complementary to the fundamental work required for each investment idea.
Effective Stewardship
Active engagement with Management teams and the use of proxy voting are both important means for effective stewardship. Active engagement with the Management teams for all owned portfolio companies is a core tenent to Channing’s overall investment process, as the investment team engages in regular dialogue on all matters related to corporate strategy; financial performance; capital allocation; risk management; and environmental, social and governance conduct.
Diversity: The Underpinning of Our Competitive Excellence
Diversity is at the core of our guiding principles at Channing Capital Management. We remain dedicated as a firm to providing opportunities to women and minorities and support diversity and inclusion at all levels. This is not only evident by our diverse workforce mix but also by our consistent track record of recruiting a diverse pool of candidates each year. As diversity is at the core of our guiding principles, we also make a good-faith effort to use third-party vendors who are business owned and / or managed by female founders or minorities.
ESG Key Roles
Our leadership team is committed to continuously improving ESG integration across our investment processes and staying current with new ESG practices and trends. We have also established an ESG working group that meets annually and is comprised of co- founders Wendell E. Mackey and Rodney E. Herenton, portfolio specialist Derik D. Coffey, and our Chief Compliance Officer to evaluate ESG integration processes, company ESG ratings across portfolios to identify major changes, as well as review the investment team’s research regarding key findings from engagement activities with portfolio companies.
“All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence”
– Martin Luther King Jr.