This paper, developed in collaboration with Oliver Wyman, explores how investors engage with public corporations to enhance long-term value creation. It examines how varying investment horizons, stakeholder interests, strategies and levels of resourcing can be aligned to form new approaches where stewardship serves as a critical lever for generating sustainable return. Based on global insights from index managers, active managers, asset owners and activist hedge funds, the report was developed over several years, beginning in 2018. During this time, the need to navigate and balance an array of interconnected economic, social, environmental and businesses challenges emerged as a top priority for many investors and business leaders.

For decades, the World Economic Forum has championed the notion of implementing stakeholder-oriented business models as a means of creating sustainable value. Central to ensuring such systemic change is the relationship between investors and corporations, two key players in the stakeholder ecosystem.

Report by the World Economic Forum