Cameron is Head of Investment Oversight & Manager Research at Aviva Investors. His team is responsible for a range of investment-related activities including external fund selection. His 15+ years of experience in the investment industry have instilled in him a deep conviction that strong corporate culture fosters the requisite collaboration, openness and innovation needed to deliver superior investment outcomes.

Following the completion of a degree in Economics at Simon Fraser University, Cameron spent eight years working closely with Canadian institutional clients before relocating to the UK in 2014. He is currently studying towards his Masters of Business Administration from Warwick Business School. He is a CFA and CAIA Charterholder. He has also spent the past several years as deputy chair of the CFA UK Certificate in Climate & Investing programme and he has been active in many DEI initiatives both internally and across the industry.

Why is corporate culture becoming more important to you when deciding who you allocate assets to?

When allocating capital, I believe that a diverse and collaborative organisational culture is one of the strongest predictors of long-term value creation. The ability to effectively navigate complex financial markets requires a sound team dynamic that encourages shared accountability and fosters an environment conducive to constructive challenge, innovation, and humility.

Allocators typically tease out a fragmented understanding of corporate culture through interactions with investment teams and secondary research. I see the ACT framework as a necessary development to help asset managers better structure and articulate their commitments, actions, and priorities that reflect continuous cultural improvement. Moreover, this sets the basis for understanding and measuring tangible progress over time providing a valuable lens for fund selectors and clients.

In your view, why is it important to set a higher standard of stewardship and behaviour within the investment industry?

Investment decision-making is highly consequential: poor practices and detrimental behaviours are likely to limit opportunities for capital growth and complicate risk management efforts. It’s imperative for the fund selection community to press investment managers to undertake continuous and critical cultural self-reflection.

I have seen direct examples of where a reluctance to address an otherwise preventable deterioration in team culture led to performance challenges, heightened team turnover, persistent outflows, and negative press coverage.

Why did you decide to sit on the ACT Stewardship Council, and what does it mean to you personally?

Investment desks are operating in an increasingly complex environment facing multiple stakeholders’ needs, structural shifts relating to technological disruption and climate change, and challenging market conditions. The prospect of contributing to the ACT Stewardship Council appealed to me as an opportunity to help asset managers more explicitly consider the importance of culture evolution. I believe doing so empowers them to more effectively and proactively tackle the growing challenges that they face.