Transcript: Expert Access — Taking action on sustainable investing

[CIBC logo.]

[Soft music plays throughout.]

[An aerial shot of a lush forest. A large CIBC sign outside CIBC Square. A crowd of people in a city.]

The world faces an increasing number of challenges over the coming decades.

[2023 was the warmest year on record]

[An aerial shot of a forest fire. Ice falls off an iceberg into the ocean. More crowds of people in cities.]

[By 2050, 70% of the world’s population is projected to live in urban areas]

Everything from climate change to shifting demographics to accelerating biodiversity loss.

[Global biodiversity framework adopted in 2022]

[An aerial shot of a lush forest. A school of fish swim in the ocean. An aerial shot of a wind turbine.]

And these factors can have material impacts on the investments we make on behalf of our clients.

[Expert Access. Taking action on sustainable investing with Aaron White.]

[A microphone is pinned on a lapel. Aaron White buttons his jacket then walks down a hallway.]

[Aaron White, Vice-President, Sustainable Investments, CIBC Asset Management]

Transparency is critical.

[ESG: Environmental Social Governance]

[Lake Louise in Alberta. A modern apartment building. A CIBC Asset Management (CAM) meeting. An investment professional looks over market data on 4 large monitors.]

Investors have a lot of confusion surrounding what ESG means, what their investment manager is doing in order to either integrate those risk factors into investment decision making or how they're influencing markets.

[A timelapse shot of a transparent office building. An investment advisor talks to clients. A CAM meeting in a large boardroom.]

Without transparency, it's very difficult for our clients to understand the outcomes we're generating on their behalf and ultimately how our investment process is aligned to their long-term futures.

For that reason, CIBC Asset Management is committed to strong disclosures, advancing those disclosures over time and making sure we're very transparent with our investors on everything we're doing.[A large CIBC sign outside CIBC Square.]

[CIBC Asset Management’s ESG journey]

CIBC Asset Management has been committed to ESG and integrating ESG into our firm culture and our investment processes.

[An EV gets power. A field of wind turbines. Four monitors filled with market data.]

2017 was really an inflection point for us. We made a commitment, from our senior management team on downward, to really advance our capabilities in this space.

[A field of solar panels. An investment professional looks over market data on 4 large monitors. An aerial shot of Lake Superior. Low angle shot of two office buildings. A CAM meeting.]

We have developed robust processes to consider ESG factors in our investment processes across all of our actively managed asset classes.

[A person gives a presentation on climate change. An investment advisor talks to a client.]

We have developed strong disclosure and transparency for our clients to understand what we're actually actioning on their behalf.

[2023 highlights]

[A large CIBC sign outside CIBC Square.]

2023 was an exciting year for CIBC Asset Management. We strengthened our commitment to ESG via 3 really key areas of development.

[1. Enhanced fundamental framework for equities and credit]

Firstly, we enhanced our fundamental framework for equities and credit to rely and leverage significantly more data to enable our portfolio managers and analysts to understand the ESG risks and opportunities that are presented with the investments they make.

[Our investment philosophy]

[Three circles of different colours appear, each featuring a form of financial analysis: traditional financial analysis, ESG analysis and holistic view.]

[2. Released climate report]

[A field of wind turbines followed by solar panels.]

We also released our first climate report.

[An aerial shot of two people walking on a wooden walkway. A father and daughter look at a wind turbine at dusk. A repair man looks over solar panels on a roof.]

This report follows the recommendations of the Taskforce of Climate Related Financial Disclosures. Really enables our investors to understand the action we're taking to understand the risks and opportunities of climate change within our portfolios.

[3. Deepened commitment to Indigenous communities]

[An image of the Truth and Reconciliation report on a table.]

And lastly, we deepened our commitment to Indigenous communities by releasing our reconciliation policy.

[A blanket ceremony being held for CAM employees.]

This policy has us train our internal staff to understand the need for reconciliation and United Nations Declaration of Rights of Indigenous People, and how to incorporate that into our investment decision making.

[United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples]

[A teaching session on the importance of Indigenous markets for CAM employees, held in a conference room. Images of Indigenous created pictures and blankets. A small meeting in a boardroom.]

We also brought Indigenous perspectives into some of those trainings, so that we could ensure that our investment professionals were armed with those perspectives when working with our investee companies. But also to hold our investee companies accountable to their own reconciliation action plans, understanding those plans and monitoring those plans over the course of our investments.

[What’s next?]

CIBC Asset Management is committed to advancing our ESG investing capabilities.

[We're investing in data, systems and people]

[A young woman explains data on large monitors. A large CAM team meeting. A modern all glass office building. People working in an office. A small meeting in a boardroom. Images of turbines and solar panels. An investor looks at market data on his laptop. Throngs of people move through an enclosed walking bridge.]

We're investing in data, systems and people to help support our teams to understand the risks and opportunities that ESG factors present within our investment processes.

We're focused on enabling our teams to engage more thoroughly and robustly with our investee companies to effect positive change that not just benefits our investors, but benefits society and markets as a whole, as we de-risk the financial system of some of these systemic risks that exist today.

We're really proud of the contribution we've made to advance the sustainability of markets, and we invite you to read more about it in our 2023 ESG and Stewardship Report, which is out now.

[CIBC logo.]

[CIBC Asset Management]

[2023 ESG and Stewardship Report]

[An aerial shot of a field of solar panels.]

[The views expressed in this video are the views of CIBC Asset Management Inc. and are subject to change at any time. CIBC Asset Management Inc. does not undertake any obligation or responsibility to update such opinions. This video is provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, tax, legal or accounting advice nor does it constitute an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any securities referred to. Individual circumstances and current events are critical to sound investment planning; anyone wishing to act on this video should consult with his or her advisor. All opinions and estimates expressed in this video are as of February 15, 2024 unless otherwise indicated, and are subject to change.

CIBC Asset Management and the CIBC logo are trademarks of Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC), used under license.

The material and/or its contents may not be reproduced without the express written consent of CIBC Asset Management Inc.

Certain information that we have provided to you may constitute “forward-looking” statements. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results or achievements to be materially different than the results, performance or achievements expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements.]

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[CIBC Asset Management logo.]

[CIBC Asset Management and the CIBC logo are trademarks of CIBC, used under license.]