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In order to proceed to the site, please accept our Terms & Conditions.

Please read the following terms and conditions carefully. By accessing rbcgam.com and any pages thereof (the "site"), you agree to be bound by these terms and conditions as well as any future revisions RBC Global Asset Management Inc. ("RBC GAM Inc.") may make in its discretion. If you do not agree to the terms and conditions below, do not access this website, or any pages thereof. Phillips, Hager & North Investment Management is a division of RBC GAM Inc. PH&N Institutional is the institutional business division of RBC GAM Inc.

No Offer

Products and services of RBC GAM Inc. are only offered in jurisdictions where they may be lawfully offered for sale. The contents of this site do not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy products or services to any person in a jurisdiction where such offer or solicitation is considered unlawful.

No information included on this site is to be construed as investment advice or as a recommendation or a representation about the suitability or appropriateness of any product or service. The amount of risk associated with any particular investment depends largely on the investor's own circumstances.

No Reliance

The material on this site has been provided by RBC GAM Inc. for information purposes only and may not be reproduced, distributed or published without the written consent of RBC GAM Inc. It is for general information only and is not, nor does it purport to be, a complete description of the investment solutions and strategies offered by RBC GAM Inc., including RBC Funds, RBC Private Pools, PH&N Funds, RBC Corporate Class Funds and RBC ETFs (the "Funds"). If there is an inconsistency between this document and the respective offering documents, the provisions of the respective offering documents shall prevail.

RBC GAM Inc. takes reasonable steps to provide up-to-date, accurate and reliable information, and believes the information to be so when published. Information obtained from third parties is believed to be reliable, but no representation or warranty, express or implied, is made by RBC GAM Inc., its affiliates or any other person as to its accuracy, completeness, reliability or correctness. RBC GAM Inc. assumes no responsibility for any errors or omissions in such information. The views and opinions expressed herein are those of RBC GAM Inc. and are subject to change without notice.

About Our Funds

The Funds are offered by RBC GAM Inc. and distributed through authorized dealers. Commissions, trailing commissions, management fees and expenses all may be associated with the Funds. Please read the offering materials for a particular fund before investing. The performance data provided are historical returns, they are not intended to reflect future values of any of the funds or returns on investment in these funds. Further, the performance data provided assumes reinvestment of distributions only and does not take into account sales, redemption, distribution or optional charges or income taxes payable by any unitholder that would have reduced returns. The unit values of non-money market funds change frequently. For money market funds, there can be no assurances that the fund will be able to maintain its net asset value per unit at a constant amount or that the full amount of your investment in the fund will be returned to you. Mutual fund securities are not guaranteed by the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation or by any other government deposit insurer. Past performance may not be repeated. ETF units are bought and sold at market price on a stock exchange and brokerage commissions will reduce returns. RBC ETFs do not seek to return any predetermined amount at maturity. Index returns do not represent RBC ETF returns.

About RBC Global Asset Management

RBC Global Asset Management is the asset management division of Royal Bank of Canada ("RBC") which includes the following affiliates around the world, all indirect subsidiaries of RBC: RBC GAM Inc. (including Phillips, Hager & North Investment Management and PH&N Institutional), RBC Global Asset Management (U.S.) Inc., RBC Global Asset Management (UK) Limited, RBC Global Asset Management (Asia) Limited, BlueBay Asset Management LLP, and BlueBay Asset Management USA LLC.

Forward-Looking Statements

This website may contain forward-looking statements about general economic factors which are not guarantees of future performance. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risk and uncertainties, so it is possible that predictions, forecasts, projections and other forward-looking statements will not be achieved. We caution you not to place undue reliance on these statements as a number of important factors could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statement. All opinions in forward-looking statements are subject to change without notice and are provided in good faith but without legal responsibility.

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Investing in equality: diversity and inclusion

Gender diversity on corporate boards and senior management has been a material issue for investors for more than a decade. Investors recognize the growing body of evidence that board diversity is directly linked to a number of indicators of profitability, financial health, and even ESG-related controversies.17

Should board minority diversity targets be adopted?

Board diversity targets

The past five years have continued to build on this momentum. In particular, the importance of these issues was underscored by the COVID-19 pandemic, which highlighted both societal inequalities related to gender and race, as well as the importance of sound corporate governance and employee management practices.

While the importance of board and workplace diversity are generally understood, investors’ views on addressing these issues are split. For example, RBC GAM first asked about board diversity targets in 2020 and found that 44% of investors were in favor – but 28% were not, and the rest were unsure. By 2021, 35% said they were not in favor of targets. Instead, investors seem to prefer to leave it to ‘market forces’ to improve diversity.

What is your preferred approach to have more gender diversity on corporate boards?

While anti-discrimination protests and campaigns have been taking place for decades, the events of the past few years have galvanized many organizations to make changes. Within financial services, companies and industry groups have published statements of support and action plans to improve their diversity credentials and address inequalities.

The UK’s Investment Association has set up several programs designed to improve hiring diversity in the country’s £9.4 trillion ($12.3 trillion) asset management industry. Investment 20/20 is an employment project designed to widen access to the sector for school and college leavers as well as university graduates. It has lent its support to the Diversity Project and Women in Finance Charter, which address racial inequality and the gender pay gap.18

Other investment programs have emerged targeting improvements in corporate diversity and investment into minority-run businesses and communities.

 RBC GAM survey

Between 2007 and 2020

38%

There was a 38% increase in the number of minority-owned businesses operating in the US, according to the SEC.19However, such companies often find it harder to raise capital than those run by white owners. The SEC found a similar story for women-owned businesses: while numbers have improved, female entrepreneurs find it harder to raise capital compared to businesses run by men.

Regulatory response

Governments and regulators in several jurisdictions are responding to these events through new rules and guidelines relating to diversity and inclusion.

 RBC GAM survey

In Canada, for example, listed companies have been required to disclose diversity data since 2014. Women now account for almost a quarter (23.4%) of board members of companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange.20

In Australia, the proportion of female directorships on the boards of the country’s 200 biggest listed companies rose from 26.2% to 34.2% between 2017 and 2021.21

In the US, the NASDAQ stock market introduced new rules for listed companies to have at least two “diverse directors”, defined as at least one “self-identified female director” and one director who “self-identifies as an underrepresented minority”, including a racial minority or LGBTQ+.22

Elsewhere, the Japan Exchange Group, which owns the Tokyo Stock Exchange, revised its securities listing rules in June 2021 to require listed companies to introduce a policy and “voluntary measurable targets” for diversity in senior management, including appointing women and non-Japanese professionals.23

Rules requiring the disclosure of the gender pay gap and the social profile of company boards have helped shed a light on gender and racial imbalances. Building on this, regulators are exploring additional rules to require more diversity at the senior leadership level of listed companies.

Rules requiring the disclosure of the gender pay gap and the social profile of company boards have helped shed a light on gender and racial imbalances. Building on this, regulators are exploring additional rules to require more diversity at the senior leadership level of listed companies. In a 2021 report, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) recommended pay transparency rules similar to those in force in 18 of its member states to “identify and address the gender wage gap”.24

These moves are based not only on responses to societal demands, but also influential research that suggests companies led by diverse boards and senior management tend to perform better in the long term.25

Beyond listed companies, asset managers and other investment service providers are also coming under the microscope on diversity measures. Investment consultancies such as Willis Towers Watson incorporate diversity factors into manager research and analysis, having found evidence that increased diversity is positively correlated with better investment performance.26

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