EX-99.(2)(R)(3) 18 tm2220524d4_ex2-r3.htm CODE OF ETHICS OF SCHRODERS CAPITAL MANAGEMENT

Exhibit 2.r.3

 

 

 

 

 

Schroders Capital Private Equity-Annex to Personal Account Dealing Policy

 

 

 

March 2022

 

 

 

 

 

Confidential - for internal use only - do not send externally

 

 

 

 

1.              Scope of this Annex

 

 

This Annex (“Annex”) to Schroders “Personal Account Dealing Policy” (“Policy”) sets out additional rules and clarifications for all Schroders Capital Private Equity1 employees.

 

2.              Schroders Capital Private Equity procedures

 

 

2.1         Transaction in Schroders plc shares

 

In addition to the rules set out in the Policy, the following rule applies: Transactions in Schroder plc shares under a discretionary mandate are not allowed.

 

2.2        Schroders Capital Private Equity Restricted list

 

As a general rule, the following is prohibited for Schroders Capital Private Equity employees:

 

§Trading in public securities (of whatever type, incl. listed shares, high yield bonds and options, rights, warrants and any other derivatives relating to such securities) of the companies that Schroders Capital Private Equity funds or mandate client vehicles or other products have an investment in. Generally, such public companies are listed on the Schroders Capital Private Equity Restricted List (“Restricted List”, see below).

 

As an exception to the above: Trading in public securities of companies with a market capitalization of more than USD 5bn and in which Schroders Capital’s Private Equity underlying fund managers’ total percentage of investment is less than 5% is generally permitted.

 

§Trading in securities (of whatever type, incl. listed shares, high yield bonds and options, rights, warrants and any other derivatives relating to such securities) of companies of which Schroders Capital Private Equity has material non-public information, e.g., in the context of evaluating an investment or through an executed Confidentiality Agreement.

 

§If a Schroders Capital Private Equity employee has received potential material non-public information (e.g., the communicated intent of a fund manager to dispose of his significant shareholding of a listed company), he is not allowed to trade on such information and he must follow the procedure set out in Section 2.2. of the Schroders Capital Private Equity Annex to Schroders Market Abuse Policy.

 

§The acquisition of securities in an initial or secondary public offering (and up to six months thereafter) of companies that Schroders Capital Private Equity funds or mandate client vehicles or other products have a direct or indirect2 investment in, is prohibited. Employees have the duty to inquire internally prior to investing in any IPO / SPO (and up to six months thereafter) to ensure that Schroders Capital Private Equity funds or mandate client vehicles or other products have no (direct or indirect) investment in the respective securities.

 

Schroders Capital’s Private Equity Chief Compliance Officer (“CCO”) shall maintain (or cause to be maintained) a Restricted List which is replicated in My Compliance.

 

The Restricted List shall include:

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 Note: “Schroders Capital Private Equity” is not a legal entity but refers to the Private Equity business of Schroders Capital.

 

2 Reference is made to the Shareholder Disclosure Guidelines: Note that Schroders Capital Private Equity does not always receive the information that an investee company (indirect investment) has IPOed or is about to IPO.

 

 

 

 

§companies with listed securities that Schroders Capital Private Equity funds or mandate client vehicles or other products have a (direct or indirect3) investment in; with the general exception of public securities of companies with a market capitalization of more than USD 5bn and in which Schroders Capital’s Private Equity underlying fund managers’ total percentage of investment is less than 5%,

 

§public securities of companies that Schroders Capital Private Equity funds or mandate client vehicles or other products are considering to invest in, and

 

§any other company with public securities of which members of the Investment Management team or any other Employee has material non-public information (in case of which he must follow the procedure set out in Section 2.2. of the Schroders Capital Private Equity Annex to Schroders Market Abuse Policy).

 

2.3        Access Persons

 

All employees of the Schroders Capital Private Equity group are ‘Access Person’ as defined under relevant SEC rules and procedures. As a result hereof, the following additional requirements will apply:

 

2.4       Schroders Capital’s Private Equity Board of Directors

 

In line with FINMA Circular 2013/8, the members of the Board of Directors of Schroders Capital Management (Switzerland) AG are required to provide information (e.g. statements) about their securities account relationships in case of need. Therefore, they need to complete Annex 3 hereto on an annual basis and submit it to Schroders Capital’s Private Equity Chief Compliance Officer.

 

2.5        Permissible Investments.

 

See Annex 1 (to be read in conjunction with the “Permissible Investments” Table as set out in the Group Personal Account Dealing Policy).

 

2.6        Applicable Accounts.

 

See Annex 2 (to be read in conjunction with Section 3.2 and 3.3 of the Group Personal Account Dealing Policy).

 

2.7        Personal Account Dealing (PAD) checks.

 

In addition to MCO alert reviews which are carried out ad hoc, personal trades are subject to post-trade monitoring, carried out by Compliance on a regular basis (at least once a quarter and for two employees). Criteria for selecting employees vary and can (amongst others) be based on trading volume and frequency in trading and trading amounts.

 

Post trade monitoring is documented by Compliance.

 

2.8        Non-Compliance and Schroders Capital Private Equity Breach Framework

 

Depending on the circumstances, non-compliance with the policy may be treated as a serious disciplinary matter and may potentially amount to a breach of an individual’s legal obligations. Schroders Capital Private Equity reserves the right to issue written reminders, written warnings, personal trading bans, escalate to management for consideration as part of supervision and remuneration discussions, and take further sanctions, up to and including dismissal of Staff and/or the reporting of the situation to the relevant regulatory body4, as described in the Schroders Capital Private Equity Breach Framework

 

 

 

 

 

 

3 Reference is made to the Shareholder Disclosure Guidelines: Note that Schroders Capital Private Equity does not always receive the information that an investee company (indirect investment) has IPOed or is about to IPO.

 

4 See also Section 7 of Schroders Personal Account Dealing Policy.

 

 

 

 

3.       Ownership and document approval

 

  

Ownership  
Policy owner Anne-Juliane Knauer, Chief Compliance Officer
Department Compliance
Telephone +41 (0) 58 445 55 02
Email anne-juliane.knauer@schroders.com
Who can I contact for advice?

Anne-Juliane Knauer, Chief Compliance Officer

 

Aikaterini Rigoulia, Compliance Officer

 

Review and approval schedule  

 

Version Date of approval

Approved by

(name/committee)

Written or updated
by
Description of
changes
1.0 September 2017 Board of Directors of Schroder Adveq Anne-Juliane Knauer  
2.0 December 2019 Board of Directors of Schroder Adveq Anne-Juliane Knauer Schroder Adveq Annex to Schroders Group Personal Account Dealing Policy
3.0 June 2020 Board of Directors of Schroder Adveq Anne-Juliane Knauer Update of Annex to reflect PAD checks
4.0 July 2021 N/A Aikaterini Rigoulia Minor changes to reflect the rebranding to Schroders Capital
5.0 March 2022 N/A Aikaterini Rigoulia Minor changes

 

 

 

 

Annex 1 - Permissible Investments

 

 

Below table must be read in conjunction with the “Permissible Investments” Table as set out in the Group Personal Account Dealing Policy.

 

 

Financial instrument
(including new issues)
Permissible
(subject to
clearance where
required)?
Pre-clearance
required?
Post trade reporting
by broker, Staff
member or PCA to
Compliance
required within 5
business days
Required holding
period of 60
calendar days
(but frequent trading
discouraged for all
instruments)
Initial Public Offerings (IPOs)

Yes

 

Exemptions: initial or secondary public offering (and up to six months thereafter) of companies that Schroders Capital Private Equity funds or mandate client vehicles or other products have a (direct or in direct) investment in

Yes Yes Yes
High Yield Bonds Yes Yes Yes Yes
Non-Schroder Open Ended Funds, authorised for distribution to the public in the Staff member’s country (UCITS funds in Europe), excluding exchange traded funds Yes No Yes Yes
Broad- based exchange traded fund (ETF) on major market indices and fiat currency ETFs5 Yes No Yes Yes
All other Index tracking Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) Yes Yes Yes Yes

Private Equity, including

Private funds (incl.

Private Equity6 funds)

and Private Companies

Yes Yes Yes Yes
SUPP, SBOT, GAIA II, GAIA GIPP Yes Yes Yes 1 year holding period

 

 

 

 

5 Broad based ETFs for the purpose of this policy means index tracking ETFs where no single security held by the fund can make up more than 20% of the fund`s NAV as stated in its offering documentation

 

6 “Private equity” in this context means investments or special purpose vehicles arranged by private equity firms or financial advisers that are not publicly traded.

 

 

 

 

Annex 2 - Applicable Accounts

 

 

Below table must be read in conjunction with Section 3.2 and 3.3 of the Group Personal Account Dealing Policy.

 

 

Account type Applicable/Not Applicable
under these rules
Additional considerations
United States 401(k) plans (managed by the employee or in a non-discretionary account by third party manager) Applicable .
United States 401(k) plans (managed in a discretionary account by a third part manager) Not applicable  

 

 

 

 

Annex 3 Board of Directors member declaration

 

 

Overview of securities account relationships / Confirmation

 

 

(Only to be used by the members of the Schroders Capital Private Equity Board of Directors)

 

 

To be provided to Schroders Capital Private Equity’s Chief Compliance Officer

 

 

I hereby declare that I have current securities account relationships (including those accounts for which I have beneficial ownership or power of attorney):

 

Name:

 

 

 

 

  Deposit – Nr   Bank
   
   
   
   
   
   

 

 

 

I herewith agree to provide the statements of my securities account relationships (including those accounts for which I have beneficial ownership or power of attorney) in the case of need to Compliance. I further agree to provide an updated statement on an annual basis.

 

Note: Only safekeeping accounts maintained with a financial institution have to be declared. In case of a banking relationship, where only a cash account but no securities account is maintained, the relationship does not have to be declared.

 

Additional note with regard to dealing in Schroders plc shares

 

If the Board Member wishes to buy or sell any interests in Schroders plc shares after his/her appointment, prior consent should be obtained through Schroders Capital Private Equity Compliance in accordance with the Group’s Personal Account Dealing Policy. Dealings in Schroders shares are not permitted during "closed periods" which are currently 60 days prior to the announcement of the Group’s full year results and 30 days prior to the announcement of the Group’s first quarter, half year and third quarter results.

 

 

 

 

Date

 

Name of the member of the Board of the Directors

 

Signature

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

Contents

 

1.   Executive Summary 3
2.   Why is it necessary? 3
3.   Scope 3
4.   Policy requirements 4
5.   Dealing Restrictions 6
6.   Staff Risk Levels 9
7.   Non-Compliance and Schroders Breach Framework 11
8.   Exemptions and Derogations 12
9.   Local PA Dealing Rules 12
10.   Ownership and document approval 13
11.   Review and Approval Schedule 13
12.   Appendix – Rules in relation to Schroders plc shares 14

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Group Personal Account Dealing Policy

 

 

 

 

1.                  Executive Summary

 

The Group Personal Account Dealing policy (the policy) sets out Schroders’ principles governing personal account (PA) dealing in financial instruments, including Schroders plc shares. These requirements are modified in some countries as explained in section 9.

 

Specific rules in relation to Schroders plc shares are included in the Appendix, which apply to all staff globally including contractors and interns (regardless of the length of contract) and non-executive Directors of Schroders Group companies.

 

‘US Access Persons’ associated with our US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulated entities (currently Schroder Investment Management North America Limited (SIMNA), Schroder Investment Management (Japan) Limited (SIM Japan Ltd), Schroders Capital Private Equity entities, Schroder Wealth Management US Ltd (SWUSL) and our SEC regulated US based entities) are subject to the US Code of Ethics  policy and additional reporting requirements will apply as set out in section 6.4.

 

 

All Staff must:

 

Review and understand the provisions of the policy

 

Obtain any pre-clearance required under the policy from Compliance through the My Compliance system, before undertaking any transactions

 

Keep the outcome of personal trade requests confidential and particularly do not discuss denied requests with others

 

Provide to Compliance all relevant requested information on a timely basis

 

Report immediately to Compliance any breach or suspected breach of the policy or applicable PA dealing rules as soon as the staff member becomes aware of such circumstance

 

Be aware of additional requirements which apply to Higher Risk Staff (see section 6)

 

 

2.                  Why is it necessary?

 

The policy reinforces the Group’s high standards of integrity, and provides a framework for staff to comply with regulations on the prevention of market abuse and to appropriately avoid or manage conflicts of interest, in relation to personal investment activities.

 

 

3.                  Scope

 

Full policy requirements

 

The policy is applicable to the Group’s:

 

·Employees;

 

·Contractors (contracts in Schroders for more than three months);

 

·Interns (work experience staff present for less than a week at Schroders can be excluded). It is recommended that interns refrain from engaging in personal account dealing during their internship, to reduce the risk of breaching this policy;

 

·In-house staff of outsourced service providers in Schroders for more than three months (herein known as staff)1; and

 

·Persons Closely Associated (PCAs) with staff (as defined below in section 3.1).

 

 

The PA dealing rules also apply to private investments including but not exclusive to investments in private companies, private equity and private funds. Where you have any other interest in, or association with a listed or non-listed company (such as being appointed a board member or a trustee of a pension fund or charity)

 

 

 

 

1 This does not include ancillary roles such as catering staff or cleaners.

 

  Group Personal Account Dealing Policy

 

 

 

 

please refer to the Group External Appointments policy.

 

 

Schroder plc shares requirements

 

The PA dealing rules in relation to Schroder plc shares apply to all staff globally, including contractors and interns of any contract length and to non-executive Directors of Schroders Group companies as described in the Appendix.

 

 

3.1                 Persons Closely Associated (PCAs)

 

PCAs are persons over whom the staff member advises, exerts influence over, or for whose account the staff member effects or instructs trades, examples of these include:

 

Spouses, partners, minors and other dependent children/stepchildren who share the same household.

 

Other relatives who have shared the same household for the previous year (or more).2

 

A corporate body, trust or partnership in whose trades the staff member or their PCA has a material direct or indirect interest or has direct or indirect control. This may include other family members, for example, or trusts of which a member of staff or their PCA is a beneficiary and/or a trustee or an adviser.3

 

The policy does not apply to trades entered into by PCAs as part of the remuneration schemes of their own employment.

 

Please see section 8.3 for further detail on PCA derogations.

 

 

3.2                  Accounts in scope of the requirements of this policy

 

All self-directed accounts (whether advisory or execution only) held by staff or their PCAs4. This includes accounts set up for the receipt of financial gifts or inheritance (if this includes financial instruments in scope of this policy as per the Permissible Investments Table)

 

Self-Invested Personal Pensions (SIPPS) (UK only) or other Self- directed Pensions Plans held by staff or their PCAs5

 

Stocks and shares individual savings accounts (ISAs) held by staff or their PCAs6

 

Trusts in respect of which a member of staff or their PCA is a beneficiary, and/or a trustee7

 

 

3.3                  Accounts not in scope of the requirements of this policy

 

The following arrangements can be conducted without needing to comply with the requirements of this policy:

 

Discretionary managed accounts (accounts where full discretion has been given to a third party to manage) other than in relation to Schroder plc shares. US Access Persons should refer to section 8.4 for additional requirements.

 

Accounts which can only hold forex or crypto assets such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Cardano, Solana, Polkadot (note accounts which can hold shares in crypto asset companies, crypto asset options or futures, tokenised securities, ETFs containing crypto assets are in scope) .

 

Schroders corporate pensions, defined contribution and defined benefit pension schemes and any other pension schemes (excluding the account types listed in section 3.2)

 

 

 

2 Individuals living in shared accommodation with no other relationship, are not considered PCAs for the purpose of this policy.

3 This does not include clients, who you only advise or ‘act on behalf of’ in the course of your Schroders employment.

4 Including robo advised accounts deemed to be self-directed accounts i.e. where a member of Staff retains trading discretion over the account.

5 All Schroders Corporate Hargreaves Lansdown (HL) SIPPs must be set up for automatic reporting through HL.

6 Including Junior ISAs & Lifetime ISAs (LISAs).

7 This excludes blind trusts.

 

  Group Personal Account Dealing Policy

 

 

 

 

Schroders ISA and Schroders Non-ISA investment accounts used for investing into Schroder funds (including pension matching alternatives), except where the investor is the fund manager of the fund in which they are transacting (such investments are in scope of the policy requirements and need to be pre cleared in My Compliance)

 

Employee Compensation Plan Fund (ECP) awards or other forms of deferred compensation except for awards or options over Schroder shares. Please note that the hedging of any form of compensation award is prohibited (see section 5.7).

 

 

4.Policy requirements

 

4.1Governing Principles

 

As the Group’s business involves research and investment on behalf of clients, conflicts of interest and exposure to confidential or price sensitive information (inside information), can often arise or be perceived to arise. These can present significant regulatory and reputational risks both for individual staff and for the Group when staff make personal account transactions in instruments, where the Group or entities within the Group has been disclosed confidential information, is currently dealing in the same securities or which it is holding for its clients. Circumstances can be ambiguous and regulators’ sanctions for PA dealing transactions that are found not to comply with statutory or regulatory requirements or the Group’s policy can be severe and very damaging.

 

Staff must comply with the PA dealing rules applicable to them as summarised below. In addition, staff must not enter into personal transactions that could amount to market abuse, criminal activity, a material conflict of interest that is not mitigated or a breach of fiduciary duty. This includes transactions which (not limited to):

 

Are based on inside information

 

Involve the misuse or improper disclosure of confidential information

 

Conflict with, or are likely to conflict with, an obligation of Schroders to a client, including the fundamental duty to act in the best interests of clients

 

For further information on market abuse risks and the definition of inside information, please refer to the Group Market Abuse Policy.

 

4.1.1 PA dealing activities must not detract (or be seen to detract) from an individual’s responsibilities to Schroders’ clients. Accordingly, all Staff must ensure when undertaking personal transactions for themselves or their PCAs, or when advising or influencing any PCAs of theirs that they do not:

 

Deal on confidential information, or advise, encourage or influence anyone else to do so;

 

Utilise knowledge of client trading for their own or another’s benefit;

 

Undertake transactions that would conflict with any of Schroders’ obligations to its clients;

 

Participate in excessively active trading, which may interfere or be seen to interfere with the member of staff’s ability to conduct their employment responsibilities and may also substantially increase the risks (both regulatory and reputational) to the employee, or the Group; or

 

Make trades that expose them to material open-ended liabilities. For example, leveraged account management, without putting an appropriate stop-loss mechanism in place

 

 

4.1.2Staff are reminded that inside, confidential or price-sensitive information obtained through their employment with Schroders or otherwise, is to be kept confidential at all times and only disclosed during the proper course of the exercise of their employment duties.

 

4.1.3These principles also apply to staff joining or leaving Schroders with regard to any knowledge of confidential information, they may have acquired prior to joining Schroders or during their time with Schroders.

 

  Group Personal Account Dealing Policy

 

4.2Prohibition and exemptions

 

 

Please refer to the Permissible Investments Table here and more details below:

 

4.2.1The following investment types are prohibited (you must not conduct any trading in the following) under the policy:

 

·Writing Uncovered Options (incl. uncovered options on currency and on interest rates)

 

·Swaps (Equity, Credit, Interest Rate, Currency, Index)

 

·Forward Interest Rate Agreements8

 

·Spread betting linked to financial instruments including for example spread bets on Schroder plc shares

 

·Contracts for Difference (CFDs) linked to financial instruments, including for example CFD’s that reference options or commodities

 

·Short selling in all non-exempt investment types (please refer to section 4.2.3 for exempt investment types), unless the request is approved by the employee’s line manager as an exception9

 

·Hedging of remuneration awards (please refer to section 5.7)

 

Staff who have existing positions as at whichever date is later between the 1st June 2021 or the date on which they joined Schroders (hire date), in any of the above instruments are allowed to maintain (but not add to) their current positions or exit them.

 

 

4.2.2The following investment types are exempt from: 1) Pre-clearance and 2) Post trade reporting but remain subject to a 60-day holding period (see section 5.4):

 

·Any broad-based exchange traded fund (ETF) on major market indices and fiat currency ETFs.10 All other ETFs require pre-clearance and post trade reporting in My Compliance US Access Persons should refer to section 6 for additional requirements

 

·Any broad-based index linked futures or option, and fiat currency futures and options.11 All other types of index linked derivatives require pre-clearance and post trade reporting in My Compliance. US Access Persons should refer to section 6 for additional requirements

 

·Crowdfunding (staff must alert Compliance of potential conflicts). US Access Persons should refer to section 6 of this policy for additional requirements

 

·All third-party retail Open Ended Funds, including UCITS and SICAVS. US Access Persons should refer to section 6 of this policy for additional requirements

 

·Seed Enterprise Investment Schemes and Enterprise Investment Schemes (UK only). US Access Persons should refer to section 6 of this policy for additional requirements

 

·Non-discretionary dividend reinvestment transactions and corporate action elections for which formal public documents are issued12

 

 

 

 

8 For hedging, please contact Compliance.

 

9 Staff must submit their request to short sell (in non-exempt investment types) in My Compliance by selecting the “Short Sale” option on the preclearance request form. Compliance will then route the request to their line manager for exceptional approval. Staff are not permitted to execute the trade until they have received approval from their line manager (via My Compliance). Requests will only be approved if Schroders has not recently traded the security. Shorts that present a conflict of interest with a long position in the security held by Schroders, will also be denied.

 

10 Broad based ETFs for the purpose of this policy means index tracking ETF’s where no single security held by the fund can make up more than 20% of the fund’s NAV (Net Asset Value) as stated in its offering documentation (e.g., prospectus) or factsheet.

 

11 Broad based index linked futures or options for the purpose of this policy means futures and options linked to an index where no single security on the index makes up more than 20% of the index.

 

12 This includes dividend reinvestment plans, scrip issues, scrip dividends, tender offers, taking up rights issues (although permission is required to sell rights or to oversubscribe).

 

  Group Personal Account Dealing Policy

 

·Japanese Government Bonds for Individuals13 US Access Persons should refer to section 6 of this policy for additional requirements.

 

 

4.2.3The following investment types are exempt from: 1) Pre-clearance, 2) Post trade reporting, and 3) the 60-day holding period:

 

·Money market instruments (such as short-term bonds/bills, commercial paper)

 

·Spot and Forward FX

 

·Crypto assets such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Cardano, Solana, Polkadot, (note shares in crypto asset companies, crypto asset options or futures, tokenised securities14, ETFs containing crypto assets are subject to pre clearance, post trade reporting and the 60-day holding period).

 

·Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) (note NFTs linked to financial instruments are subject to pre clearance, post trade reporting and the 60-day holding period).

 

·Spread bets linked to FX

 

 

4.3Pre-clearance and post trade reporting

 

4.3.1 Pre-clearance and post trade reporting are required for all instruments except those that are exempt in section 4.2.2 and 4.2.3 and the following, which only require post trade reporting:

 

·Government and Supra-national bonds

 

·Schroder managed open ended funds

 

 

4.3.2To ensure that we adhere to the governing principles in section 4.1, the following are examples of reasons why clearance to trade may not be given (but are non-exhaustive):

 

The instrument is on the Stop List

 

There is recent, current or planned client trading in the instrument

 

The Group holds more than 10 percent of the capital of the stock for clients and/or itself

 

The security has not been held for the required holding period

 

For Schroders plc shares, the Group is in a closed or restricted period

 

Please see section 5 below for more details.

 

4.3.3 After pre-clearance has been received from My Compliance, it will be valid until market close on the following business day (market refers to the exchange(s) that the security is traded on) unless otherwise stated, and PA dealing may only take place in that timeframe (except, for example, in the case of applications for Initial Public Offerings or investments in private funds and companies, where clearance will apply until allocation).

 

4.3.4 If after receiving pre-clearance you proceed to execute less shares/units/value than pre-cleared, this will not be treated as a breach of policy. However, you should make every effort to enter the information in your pre-clearance request as accurately as possible. Trade executions which exceed your pre-cleared amount will be treated as a breach of this policy unless there is a mitigating circumstance, such as a price movement between your pre-clearance request and the trade execution.

 

You are required to complete all post trade reporting in My Compliance within five business days (two

 

 

 

13 Japanese Government Bond’s for Individuals with a fixed 1-year minimum redemption rates.

 

14 A digital token created to represent a “real world” asset, such as a stock, bond, commodity or interest in real estate. These are tokens that amount to a ‘Specified Investment’ under the Regulated Activities Order (RAO), excluding e-money. These may provide rights such as ownership, repayment of a specific sum of money, or entitlement to a share in future profits. They may also be transferable securities or other financial instrument under the EU’s Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II (MiFID II).

 

  Group Personal Account Dealing Policy

 

days for trades in Schroders plc) of the trade15 and at the same time provide Compliance with paper or electronic proof of executing the transaction (e.g., a contract note). Please note that Compliance may on occasion, request additional information relating to your personal trading, such as transaction histories or statements to facilitate compliance monitoring activities. Trades executed through the Computershare portal (for Schroders plc shares) will be automatically reported into My Compliance.

 

 

4.4Automated Broker Feeds

 

If you have an account with a broker which provides an automated feed (please contact your local Compliance team for available broker feeds) you are strongly advised to contact Compliance regarding setting up an automated feed, which will complete the reporting of trades in those accounts on your behalf and ensure your compliance with the policy requirements. Please note, where an automated feed is set up, you are still required to seek pre-clearance prior to execution.

 

 

4.5Reporting of PA Dealing to Management

 

All staff (and their PCA’s) who decide to engage in PA dealing activity that is in scope of this policy, should be aware of the ongoing reporting of PA transactions to senior management when they submit their pre-clearance requests or report trades.

 

This reporting may be exceptional or routine, and may include pre-clearance requests, PA dealing approvals or details of trades executed.

 

Please note that, as part of implementation of the policy, access to a limited number of websites may be logged and monitored for the purposes of identifying potential breaches of this policy.

 

 

5.Dealing Restrictions

 

The following (sections 5.1-5.8) are examples of why pre-clearance may be denied, please note this is not an exhaustive list.

 

5.1Stop List

 

If securities are on the Stop List, staff will be refused permission to deal. This is normally because one or more staff members of the Group are in possession of potentially price-sensitive or confidential information.

 

 

5.2Dealing in Schroders plc shares

 

Transactions in Schroders shares are prohibited during closed periods as well as in restricted periods when a staff member is an ‘insider’ in relation to Schroders shares. The specific restrictions and the definition of these periods are set out in the Appendix.

 

Schroders plc shares purchased in the market (rather than forming part of a remuneration award) are subject to a one-year holding period.

 

 

5.3Where the Group holds more than 10 percent.

 

Where Schroders holds more than 10 percent of the issued share capital of a company, on behalf of clients or itself, staff will be refused permission to purchase equity investments in that company. This is because regulatory and reputational risks are deemed higher, as the Group is more likely to be in possession of confidential information.

 

Exceptions to this rule are:

 

Open ended Schroder managed funds

 

 

 

15 For new issuances, reporting in My Compliance is required within 5 business days of the allocation date.

 

  Group Personal Account Dealing Policy

 

 

Closed ended Schroder managed investment trusts

 

If pre-emption rights are compromised, e.g., in the case of public rights issues, in which case Compliance should be consulted

 

Disposal of such an investment is permitted. However, staff (in particular Investment staff, with knowledge of, or dealings with, the company or its senior management) should take great care in timing these disposals in accordance with the governing principles in section 4.1 of this Policy.

 

 

5.4Minimum Holding Period

 

Staff and their PCAs should not engage in PA dealing activity for short-term speculative purposes. All securities, unless they are exempt under section 4.2.3, must be held for a minimum of 60 calendar days. Therefore, staff and their PCAs are not permitted to sell within 60 days of a purchase of the same instrument, irrespective of the staff’s existing holdings (i.e., if staff or their PCAs have existing holdings, the latest transaction date will prevail). This rule applies in aggregate across all accounts held by the member of staff or their PCA, and which is in scope of this policy in section 3.2.

 

The use of Stop Losses, Limit Orders and Auto Calls within the 60-day period is permitted if the details are disclosed at the time of the pre-clearance request in My Compliance.

 

Other derogations may be exceptionally agreed on a case-by-case basis with Compliance (e.g., in cases of personal financial hardship).

 

Schroders plc shares purchased in the market (rather than forming part of a remuneration award) are subject to a one-year holding period.

 

 

5.5Pending Client Orders

 

Compliance will check for any pending client orders. Factors that are taken into consideration within My Compliance in responding to a pre-clearance request include:

 

The size of the trade request (and the cumulative value of other trades in the investment in the prior 60 days)

 

Whether the trade request relates to a Small Cap stock (typically market capitalisation of £2 billion or less)

 

Whether the staff member is Higher Risk (as per section 6)

 

Executed transactions are also subject to post-trade monitoring against client trading activity and explanations may be requested from staff.

 

 

5.6Proximity to Client Trades

 

Compliance has mechanisms in place to monitor potential conflicts of interest with client trades, as the risk is higher when PA dealing is undertaken in close proximity to dealing on behalf of clients.

 

Buying or selling financial instruments up to five business days before client trades is prohibited where the staff member has knowledge of the Group’s intention to trade on behalf of a client and such trading may have an impact on the price of the instruments, even where approval through My Compliance is received. This may be subject to post-trade compliance monitoring by Compliance and explanations may be requested from staff.

 

 

5.7Remuneration Awards – Hedging

 

Personal hedging is prohibited for remuneration awards that reflect deferred compensation in shares, or equivalent during the deferral and/or holding period for those awards. This includes share or fund awards that staff receive as part of their performance-based remuneration under our Deferred Award Plan, Equity Compensation Plan, Equity Incentive Plan or Long-Term Incentive Plan.

 

Any use of financial products (for example, insurance linked products that would not otherwise be in scope of this policy) to protect against or limit the risk associated with deferred remuneration awards is prohibited. This includes short sales, puts, calls or other types of financial instruments (including but not limited to variable

 

  Group Personal Account Dealing Policy

 

 

forwards contracts, and collars) which are based on the value of Schroders shares, funds, or other securities granted to, or held directly or indirectly by such staff member as part of their performance-based remuneration.

 

Hedging of any currency risk that may be associated with a share or fund award or other staff compensation is permitted.

 

If a staff member breaches this rule, they may be liable to forfeit all or part of their restricted or unvested awards.

 

 

5.8           Proximity to Internal Investment Research

 

All staff are reminded that conducting personal account dealing in the securities of issuers or Schroder funds, in which there has been or where you are aware there will be published internal research, presents a (perceived) conflict of interest. Staff should therefore be careful not to engage in personal account dealing during such time. Typically, this will apply in the five days prior and the five days following the publication of the research document. Research for the purposes of this requirement, relates to documents written by Schroders staff which includes information recommending or suggesting an investment strategy, explicitly or implicitly, concerning one or several financial instruments or the issuers, including any opinion as to the present or future value or price of such instruments. A typical investment recommendation would include any buy, sell, or relative value recommendation, for equities and bonds and any other in scope financial instrument, regardless of whether any time horizon for the trade is specified and irrespective of whether there is a specific price target.

 

 

Internal Research for the purposes of this policy does not include:

 

1)A communication that does not refer to either a specific financial instrument or its issuer

 

2)A communication relating solely to spot currency rates, sectors, interest rates, loans, commodities, macroeconomic variables or industry sectors and not referring to a specific financial instrument or an issuer

 

3)Any communication containing purely factual information on one or several financial instruments or issuers of financial instruments

 

 

In addition, Research Analysts, Research Associates and other staff involved in the production of internal investment research (including their PCAs), are prohibited from personal trading in an issuer (and its issues) or fund which they cover, in the five business days prior, and the five business days following the issuance of research reports covering that issuer or fund.

 

When pre-clearing personal account trades in My Compliance, Investment staff must attest that they have not and will not issue a research document in the five business days prior and the five business days following, in the financial instrument in which they are seeking pre-clearance.

 

 

6.            Higher Risk Staff

 

The following requirements only apply to Higher Risk Staff. Higher Risk Staff are staff who are more likely to have access to non-public price sensitive information and/or to client trading information and/or may undertake roles that may be more likely to create an actual or perceived conflict of interest.

 

Higher Risk staff include:

 

–      Group Management Committee members

 

–      Investment staff

 

–      Compliance staff16

 

–      Investment Risk staff

 

 

 

 

 

16 Who have administrator permissions in My Compliance, including restricted list manager permissions.

 

  Group Personal Account Dealing Policy

 

 

 

     All other ‘US Access Persons’ associated with our SEC regulated entities

 

 

If you are a Higher Risk Staff member, additional restrictions apply to Higher Risk staff, as follows:

 

 

6.1            Pending Client Orders (All Higher Risk Staff)

 

Restrictions set within My Compliance are greater for Higher Risk Staff on approving the buying or selling of financial instruments where the instrument is pending client order execution.

 

 

6.2            Trades in own Investment Universe (Investment Staff)

 

Investment staff are required to inform Compliance via the My Compliance system when a trade request is within their own Investment Universe, irrespective of the size of the request.

 

Investment Universe includes investments in relation to which the individual or others on the same desk have undertaken research or analysis on the security or issuer as part of that desk’s coverage, whether or not it has been held in a client portfolio, in the last 12 months, or in the case of dealers, within the dealing desk’s scope of responsibility.

 

 

6.3            Trades in own managed funds (Investment Staff)

 

Investment staff are required to inform Compliance via the My Compliance system when a trade request is in a fund managed by their desk, irrespective of the size of the request.

 

 

6.4            US Access Persons

 

If you have been advised by Compliance that you are an ‘US Access Person’ associated with our SEC regulated entities (currently SIMNA Ltd, SWUSL Ltd, SIM Japan Ltd, Schroders Capital Private Equity entities, and our SEC regulated US based entities) and hence subject to the US Code of Ethics, the following additional requirements will apply:

 

Trade Reporting Requirements

 

In addition to the post-trade reporting as set out in section 4, US Access Persons are also required to:

 

Include non-Schroder Open Ended Funds that have not been authorised for distribution to the public in the Staff member’s country17, in their Initial Declaration, Quarterly and Annual Reports (see below for details about these reports); and

 

Include Schroder Open Ended Funds in their Initial Declaration, Quarterly and Annual Reports (see below for details about these reports); and

 

Include all ETFs and other derivatives linked to major market indices in their Initial Declaration, Quarterly and Annual Reports (see below for details about these reports); and

 

Include all Enterprise Investment Schemes and Seed Enterprise Investment Schemes in their Initial Declaration, Quarterly and Annual Reports (see below for details about these reports); and

 

Include all investment-based Crowdfunding in their Initial Declaration, Quarterly and Annual Reports (see below for details about these reports); and

 

Include all government bond investments (including Japanese Government Bonds) in their Initial Declaration, Quarterly and Annual Reports (see below for details about these reports); and

 

Report subsequent transactions in regular savings plans for which the initial transaction has been pre-cleared require reporting in the Quarterly Reports (see below); and

 

 

 

 

 

17 Open ended funds that are not: 1) US registered or 2) available to the retail public; daily priced; traded with the issuer; not managed by Schroders and not made by a US Access Person on a trading desk.

 

  Group Personal Account Dealing Policy

 

 

 

US Access Persons on trading desks only: non-Schroder Open Ended Funds, authorised for distribution to the public in the Staff member’s country (UCITS funds in Europe) within five business days.

 

The reporting obligation may be discharged by arranging with their brokers/agents to report the transaction via an established automated feed into My Compliance.

 

Initial Declaration

 

No later than 10 calendar days after being advised that they are subject to the US Code of Ethics policy, each US Access Person must report each Permissible Investment they own in My Compliance or if agreed with Compliance, provide a list of their investments (as defined below).

 

The information provided, which must be current as of a date no more than 45 days prior to the date such person became an US Access Person, must include the title of the security, at least one of exchange ticker symbol, ISIN, CUSIP or Sedol and number of shares owned (for equities), or principal amount (for debt securities). The US Access Person must also provide information regarding the name of the broker, dealer, or bank with whom the staff member maintains an account in which any securities are held for the direct or indirect benefit of the staff member, and set these accounts up in My Compliance.

 

Quarterly Reports

 

No later than 30 days after the end of each calendar quarter, each US Access Person must confirm that all transactions in Permissible Investments, including for the avoidance of doubt Schroder Funds and reportable funds for which pre-clearance was not required, in the quarter have been reported in My Compliance and make any additions/amendments in the system as necessary. US Access Persons are required to confirm these transactions through an attestation in My Compliance.

 

Annual Reports

 

Within 45 days after the end of the calendar year, each US Access Person must confirm all holdings in Permissible Investments for their covered accounts as of 31 December in My Compliance. US Access Persons are required to confirm these transactions through an attestation in My Compliance.

 

 

7.          Non-Compliance and Schroders Breach Framework

 

Staff and their PCAs should regularly review their own trading to ensure that they have acted in compliance with the provision of this policy. To the extent that a member of staff determines that they or a PCA of theirs has executed a transaction not in compliance with this policy, the violation must be reported to their local Compliance team immediately.

 

Personal trades are subject to post-trade monitoring which could result in retrospective action being taken, if there is evidence of non-compliance with the governing principles of this policy, even if the request was approved in the My Compliance system.

 

Depending on the circumstances, non-compliance with this policy may be treated as a serious disciplinary matter and may potentially amount to a breach of an individual’s legal obligations.

 

In the event that any staff or their PCA are found to have breached this policy, including the governing principles, in accordance with the breach framework, Schroders reserves the right to:

 

Issue personal trading bans

 

Insist that the member of staff or PCA closes out the position at their own cost

 

Pay any profits to charity

 

Escalate to management, for consideration as part of supervision and remuneration discussions

 

Take further sanctions, up to and including dismissal of staff and/or the reporting of the situation to the relevant regulatory body

 

The UK Schroders breach framework can be found here. Staff outside of the UK should refer to their local breach framework or speak to their local Compliance team for more details.

 

  Group Personal Account Dealing Policy

 

 

 

8.             Exemptions and Derogations

 

8.1           Regular Savings/Investment/Trading Plans

 

This section relates to securities, which are subject to pre-clearance and/or post trade reporting in this Policy.

 

When setting up a regular savings plan or other similar investment/trading plans18 where successive personal transactions are carried out on behalf of a member of staff or their PCA in accordance with prior instructions given by them, the first transaction must be pre-cleared/reported in My Compliance as per the requirements listed in the Executive Summary of this Policy.

 

For regular “value based” saving/trading plans, given current system constraints, please clarify your intentions in the comments field and amend the price to give the correct value on your pre clearance request/trade report in My Compliance.

 

Subsequent transactions do not require pre-clearance. Reporting of subsequent transactions is required for Directors of Schroders plc and their PCAs in relation to Schroders plc shares (see the Appendix) and for US Access Persons in their Quarterly and Annual transactions/holdings reporting as per section 6.4, but not for other staff.

 

Changes to a regular savings plan are also subject to the pre-clearance and/or post trade reporting (of the first subsequent transaction) requirements. Compliance may also periodically request confirmation that the plan has not changed. The termination or withdrawal of the staff member or PCA’s recurring instruction does not require pre-clearance, unless the assets that were acquired under the instructions are being disposed of at the same time. For changes to regular saving plans or other similar investment/trading plan instructions involving Schroders plc shares, please refer to the Appendix.

 

 

8.2            Staff on extended leave

 

Staff on extended leave (e.g., maternity, sick etc.) may be given an exemption from the policy requirements during their leave. The staff member is responsible for liaising with their local Compliance team and seeking an exemption based on their individual circumstances.

 

 

8.3            Derogations

 

Staff may request a derogation if their PCA manages their financial affairs wholly independently of, and without any knowledge or influence of, the member of staff. Compliance will assess individual circumstances, including, if applicable, the compliance process for PA dealing the PCA is subject to in their own employment, and the appropriate certification of independence of the management of their financial affairs.

 

Staff should discuss other requests for derogations with their Head of Compliance. The Head of Central Risk and Compliance will document any derogation that Compliance agrees to give. Such derogations can be ongoing or limited to specific transactions – but are only likely to be granted in exceptional circumstances.

 

Any derogation request in respect of Schroders plc shares should be discussed with the Group Company Secretary team.

 

 

8.4            Discretionary Managed Accounts

 

As per section 3.3 of this policy, discretionary managed accounts (accounts where full discretion has been given to a third party to manage) other than in relation to Schroder plc shares, are out of scope of this Policy.

 

 

 

 

18 This includes self directed pension plans where staff decide to invest the contributions into stock, shares funds or other financial instruments in scope of this policy.

 

  Group Personal Account Dealing Policy

 

 

 

Staff who are US Access persons must declare all their and their PCA’s active discretionary managed accounts in My Compliance. Once declared, these accounts are then exempt from the other requirements in this Policy.

 

 

9.            Local PA Dealing Rules

 

The following have local Personal Account Dealing policies, which contain additional requirements that apply in addition to the requirements in this policy. Contact your local Compliance team for details of your local policies.

 

     Australia

 

     Brazil

 

     Hong Kong

 

     Indonesia

 

     Japan

 

     Korea

 

     Singapore

 

     Switzerland

 

     Taiwan

 

     United States of America

 

     Schroders Capital Private Equity

 

     Wealth Management

 

     ‘US Access Persons’ subject to US Code of Ethics (in the UK associated with SIMNA Limited)

 

 

10.            Ownership and document approval

 

Ownership

 

Policy owner

 

Department

  Head of Central Risk and Compliance
  Compliance

 

  Group Personal Account Dealing Policy

 

 

 

11.       Review and Approval Schedule

 

Version Date of
approval

Approved by
(name/committe

e)

Written or
updated by
Description of changes
1

January

2020

Group

Management
Committee

Alex Richardson Major revisions and simplification
2

May

2021

Group Policy
Committee
Alex Richardson

   Additional prohibition and
exemptions.

 

2.1

May

2022

Alex Richardson Jasmine Barnes-
Keywood

Amended front cover to reflect new ownership of policy

 

3 July 2022 Alex Richardson Jonathan
Campbell
Clarifications to the scope, additions to the accounts in scope and accounts not in scope. Clarifications to crypto assets and other minor amendments.

 

 

Disclaimer

 

The contents of this policy are strictly confidential and should only be shared with third party PCAs as defined in this Policy, who should also keep them confidential. This Policy must not be otherwise communicated or published in any way whatsoever without the prior written consent of the Schroder Group.

 

 

 

  Group Personal Account Dealing Policy

 

 

 

 

APPENDIX

 

 

 

Group Personal Account Dealing Policy Appendix – Rules in relation to Schroders plc shares

 

 

Contents

 

 

Personal Account Dealing Rules in relation to Schroders plc shares 15
1. Introduction 15
2. Definitions 15
3. Application 16
4. Transactions/Dealing 17
6. Persons Closely Associated (‘PCAs’) and Investment Managers 19
7. Notification of Transactions 19
8. What this means in practice 20
Schedule 1 21
Notification Template    21
Summary of dealing restrictions in Schroders plc shares for plc Directors and their PCAs   22
Summary of dealing restrictions in Schroders plc shares for Staff, their PCAs and Project  
Insiders    23

 

 

Group Personal Account Dealing Policy      16

 

 

 

 

Personal Account Dealing Rules in relation to Schroders plc shares

 

 

1.           Introduction

 

The purpose of this Appendix to the Personal Account Dealing Policy is to set out the rules that apply to transactions/dealing in Schroders plc shares for all staff, non-executive Directors of Schroders Group Companies, Directors of Schroders plc and all Persons Closely Associated (PCAs) globally. This Policy is in place to ensure that those people subject to it do not abuse, and do not place themselves under suspicion of abusing, inside information and comply with their obligations under the UK Market Abuse Regulation.

 

Definitions

 

Closed Periods are the period of 30 days immediately before an announcement of Schroders plc's half-year or full year results, or if longer, the period from the end of the financial period until the announcement of Schroders plc's half-year or full year results.

 

DRIP means the Schroders plc dividend reinvestment plan that gives shareholders the opportunity to use their cash dividend to buy Schroders plc shares.

 

Inside Information means information which relates to the Company or any Company Securities, which is not publicly available, which is likely to have a non-trivial effect on the price of Company Securities and which an investor would be likely to use as part of the basis of his or her investment decision.

 

Persons Closely Associated (PCAs) means

 

·Spouses, partners, minors and other dependent children/stepchildren

 

·A relative who has shared the same household for the previous year (or more)

 

·Anyone the Staff member or Schroders plc Director advises, exerts influence over, or for whose account the Staff member or Schroders plc Director effects or instructs trades

 

·Any other person, corporate body, trust or partnership in whose trades the Staff member, Schroders plc Director or their PCA has a material direct or indirect interest or has direct or indirect control. This may include other family members, for example, or trusts of which a member of Staff, a Schroders plc Director or their PCA is a beneficiary and/or trustee or adviser.

 

Project Insider means a member of staff, a Schroders plc Director or third-party adviser who has access to Inside Information or potentially Inside Information and who has been informed that they are on a price-sensitive project list.

 

Restricted Periods are any period, other than a Closed Period, when there exists inside information in relation to Schroders plc or Schroders securities. In these cases, Project Insiders are advised of his or her name being included on a project insider list and the obligations and restrictions imposed upon them.

 

Schroders plc shares/Company Securities means any publicly traded or quoted shares or debt instruments of the Company (or any of the Company’s subsidiaries or subsidiary undertakings) or derivatives or other financial instruments linked to any of them, including phantom options.

 

Schroders plc Directors means all directors currently appointed to the Board of Schroders plc, including both executive and non-executive Directors.

 

SIP means the Schroders Share Incentive Plan which can be joined by UK-based permanent employees.

 

Group Personal Account Dealing Policy      17

 

 

 

 

Staff means employees of the Schroders plc group of companies, contractors at Schroders for any contract length and the long-term in-house Staff of outsourced service providers, excluding Schroders plc Directors.

 

Trading Plan means a written plan entered with an independent third party that sets out a strategy for the acquisition and/or disposal of Company Securities by the member of Staff, Schroders plc Director and all PCAs, and:

 

·Specifies the amount of Company Securities to be dealt with and the price at which and the date on which the Company Securities are to be dealt in; or

 

·Gives discretion to that independent third party to make trading decisions about the amount of Company Securities to be dealt in and the price at which and the date on which the Company Securities are to be dealt in; or

 

·Includes a method for determining the amount of Company Securities to be dealt in and the price at which and the date on which the Company Securities are to be dealt in.

 

Transactions/Dealing means any type of transaction in Company Securities, including purchases, sales, the exercise of options, the receipt of shares under share plans, using Company Securities as security for a loan or other obligation and entering into, amending or terminating any agreement in relation to Company Securities (e.g. a Trading Plan).

 

 

2.               Application

 

The following restrictions apply to all staff globally, Schroders plc Directors and all PCAs at all times:

 

Pre-clearance must be obtained via My Compliance in advance of transactions/dealings in Schroders plc shares (i.e. transactions to buy, sell, lend or enter into any arrangement linked to the value of Schroders plc shares). Pre-clearance is not required for certain actions set out in sections 4.2 and 4.3 below

 

All transactions/dealings are prohibited during Closed Periods for all Staff, Schroders plc Directors and all PCAs

 

If you are a Project Insider, pre-clearance will not be given during the relevant Restricted Period

 

Whether or not you have pre-clearance, you must not deal if you have any inside information

 

You cannot deal on short term considerations (the minimum holding period for Schroders plc shares is one year)

 

You must keep confidential the fact that you are intending to deal or that you have applied for pre-clearance, and, if it is refused, that this was the case

 

If you are given pre-clearance, you must deal as soon as possible and in any event by market close the following business day

 

Pre-clearance may be given subject to conditions. Where this is the case, you must observe those conditions when dealing

 

Dealings relating to options in Schroders plc shares such as traded options, contracts for difference, spread betting and short selling are prohibited

 

 

If you are in doubt whether a proposed transaction in Schroders plc shares may constitute insider dealing, market abuse or about any aspect of the rules applicable to Schroders plc shares, you should contact Corporate Secretariat via companysecretary@schroders.com before undertaking any transaction.

 

 

Group Personal Account Dealing Policy      18

 

 

 

 

If you think you or your PCA may be in breach of these rules at any time please notify Corporate Secretariat before taking any other action.

 

 

 

 

3.           Transactions/dealing

 

During a Closed Period, staff, Schroders plc Directors and all PCAs and their investment managers must not conduct any transactions/dealing for the account of the staff member or any of their PCAs, directly or indirectly, relating to Schroders plc shares or debt instruments or to derivatives or other financial instruments linked to them.

 

Staff, Schroders plc Directors and all PCAs also must not conduct any transactions/dealing for the account of a third party during a Closed Period.

 

4.1             Transactions/dealing which require pre-clearance and are notifiable to the Company

 

Outside a Closed Period, Transactions/Dealing which require pre-clearance and are notifiable to the Company include the following:

 

a)     For Staff, Schroders plc Directors and all PCAs:

 

Any acquisition (including the exercise of any option under the Deferred Award Plan, Equity Compensation Plan, Equity Incentive Plan and Long Term Incentive Plan (Share-Based Deferred Awards)) or disposal, or agreement to acquire or dispose, of Schroders plc shares whether through a recognised stock exchange or by private off-market dealings

 

Any acquisition or disposal in an investment fund or unit trust containing Schroders plc shares where the value of Schroders plc shares constitutes greater than 20 per cent. of the fund or trust’s value

 

Transactions in Schroders plc shares executed by a third party under an individual portfolio or asset management mandate on behalf of or for the benefit of the Staff member. This does not include discretionary arrangements with third party investment managers notified in My Compliance

 

The grant, acceptance, acquisition, disposal, exercise or discharge of any option, other than an option under the Share-Based Deferred Awards, (whether for the call, or put or both) to acquire or dispose of any Schroders plc shares

 

Entering into or terminating, assigning or novating any stock lending agreement in respect of Schroders plc shares

 

Using as security, or otherwise granting a charge, lien or other encumbrance over Schroders plc shares

 

Any transaction, including a transfer for nil consideration, or the exercise of any power or discretion effecting a change of ownership of a beneficial interest in Schroders plc shares

 

Any other right or obligation, present or future, conditional or unconditional, to acquire or dispose of any Schroders plc shares

 

Investment into an ISA or divestment from an ISA where Schroders plc shares will be acquired through the ISA or disposed of through the ISA (including any acquisitions or disposals of Schroders plc shares through a 'self-select' ISA) where a Staff member retains control of the investment decisions

 

On-market transactions where the beneficial interest in Schroders plc shares does not change, for example a transfer of Schroders plc shares already held by means of a matched sale and purchase into a saving scheme or into a pension scheme in which the Staff member or Schroders plc Director is a participant or beneficiary

 

Dealings by Staff or Schroders plc Directors acting as sole trustee of a trust or acting as trustee on their own account

 

Gifts and donations made or received, and inheritance received, in the form of Schroders plc shares

 

 

Group Personal Account Dealing Policy      19

 

 

 

 

b) For Schroders plc Directors and their PCAs only:

 

Off-market transactions/dealings where the beneficial interest in Schroders plc shares does not change

 

Pre-clearance should be obtained by a Schroders plc Director or their PCA prior to the receipt of shares as the beneficiary of a discretionary trust. Upon receipt of the shares, the Group Company Secretary should be notified

 

 

4.2Transactions/Dealing which do not require pre-clearance but are notifiable to the Company

 

Outside a Closed Period, Transactions/Dealing which do not require pre-clearance but are notifiable to the Company include the following:

 

a)For Staff and Schroders plc Directors:

 

Transfers of shares into a savings scheme investing in Schroders plc shares following the release of shares from the SIP (pre-clearance is not required but the new holding information must be updated on My Compliance)

 

b)For Staff and their PCAs:

 

Off-market Transactions/Dealings where the beneficial interest in Schroders plc shares does not change (pre-clearance is not required but the new holding information must be updated on My Compliance)

 

Pre-clearance is not required by a Staff member or their PCA prior to the receipt of shares as the beneficiary of a discretionary trust. However, on receipt of the shares, the new holding information must be updated on My Compliance

 

 

4.3Unrestricted actions

 

Transactions/dealing for which no pre-clearance or notification are required are set out as follows:

 

Joining, changing the terms of or exiting the SIP in an open period (unless you are a Director of Schroders plc – see section 8 below)

 

Joining, changing the terms of or exiting the DRIP in an open period (unless you are a Director of Schroders plc -see section 8 below)

 

The cancellation or surrender of an option under a Share-Based Award Scheme

 

An investment in a scheme or arrangement (other than where the investment in Schroders plc shares constitutes greater than 20 per cent. of the arrangement’s value) and where the assets of the scheme or arrangement are invested at the discretion of an independent third party

 

Where a transaction is being undertaken on you or your PCA’s account during an open period under a discretionary arrangement with a third-party investment manager that has been declared in My Compliance

 

 

This list is not exhaustive. Should you be in any doubt as to how a particular transaction should be treated, you should contact Corporate Secretariat before undertaking any such transaction.

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Group Personal Account Dealing Policy 20

 

 

 

 

4.Persons Closely Associated (PCAs) and Investment Managers

 

Closed Periods

 

Schroders plc Directors must advise all his or her PCAs and investment managers (whether discretionary or not) acting on his or her behalf of Schroders plc’s Closed Periods during which they cannot deal in Schroders plc shares.

 

Staff members must advise all his or her PCAs acting on his or her behalf of Schroders plc’s Closed Periods during which they cannot deal in Schroders plc shares.

 

Restricted Periods

 

PCAs or investment managers should not be notified of Restricted Periods which are determined by access to Inside Information.

 

Pre-clearance and Notification

 

Staff members and Schroders plc Directors must advise all his or her PCAs and investment managers acting on his or her behalf:

 

That with the exception of discretionary arrangements (i.e. where the discretion is with the investment manager), pre-clearance to deal in Schroders plc shares is required prior to all transactions/dealing; and

 

In writing, that the investment manager or PCA must advise the Staff member or Schroders plc director immediately after they have dealt in Schroders plc shares.

 

 

Staff members and Schroders plc Directors must take reasonable steps to prevent any dealings in Schroders plc shares by or on behalf of any PCA on considerations of a short-term nature.

 

Schroders plc Directors must provide the Company with a list of his or her PCAs, and notify the Company of any changes to be made to that list. Staff members must declare all of their own, and their PCAs’, active self-directed accounts and active discretionary managed accounts in My Compliance.

 

 

5.Notification of Transactions

 

Once a transaction/dealing is executed, staff must confirm the transaction details in the My Compliance system as soon as practicable and in any event within two business days of the transaction date. Staff should ensure that their investment managers (whether discretionary or not) notify them immediately of any notifiable transactions/dealing conducted on their behalf so as to allow them to confirm the transaction details in My Compliance within this timeframe. Any transactions/dealing undertaken through the Computershare employee share plan portal will be reported automatically.

 

For Directors of Schroders plc and their PCAs, once a transaction/dealing is executed, they must confirm the transaction details to the Group Company Secretary as soon as practicable and in any event within two business days of the transaction date. Schroders plc Directors and their PCAs should ensure that their investment managers (whether discretionary or not) notify them immediately of any transactions/dealing conducted on their behalf so as to allow them to notify the Group Company Secretary within this timeframe. The confirmation of transaction details to the Group Company Secretary must be in the form prescribed in Schedule 1 to this Policy. On receipt of the completed form, Schroders Corporate Secretariat will make the necessary announcement and submit the required details to the Financial Conduct Authority on the Director’s or PCA’s behalf.

 

Directors of Schroders plc must notify their PCAs and investment managers in writing of these notification obligations and retain a copy of the notification letter.

 

A copy of the notification form in Schedule 1 is available from Schroders Corporate Secretariat.

 

 

 

  Group Personal Account Dealing Policy 21

 

 

 

 

If you are uncertain as to whether or not a particular transaction/dealing is notifiable to the Company, you must obtain guidance from the Corporate Secretariat.

 

 

6.What this means in practice

 

Trading Plans for Schroders plc shares

 

Clearance to deal is required before entering into, amending or exiting a Trading Plan

 

Staff, Directors of Schroders plc and all PCAs may not enter into, change the terms of or exit a Trading Plan during a Closed Period

 

Directors of Schroders plc and Project Insiders may not enter into, change the terms of or exit a Trading Plan during a Restricted Period

 

Schroders Share Incentive Plan (SIP)

 

Staff and Directors of Schroders plc may not join, change the terms of their participation or exit the SIP during a Closed Period

 

Directors of Schroders plc and Project Insiders may not join, change the terms of their participation or exit the SIP during a Restricted Period

 

Clearance to Deal is required prior to any subsequent dealing, such as a sale of shares, in any Schroders plc shares acquired through the SIP

 

Dividend Reinvestment Plan (DRIP)

 

Directors of Schroders plc or their PCAs must obtain clearance to deal before joining, changing the terms of participation in or exiting the Company’s DRIP

 

Staff, Directors of Schroders plc or their PCAs may not join, change the terms of their participation or exit the DRIP during a Closed Period

 

Directors of Schroders plc and Project Insiders may not join, change the terms of their participation or exit the DRIP during a Restricted Period

 

Clearance to deal is required prior to any subsequent dealing in any Schroders shares acquired through the DRIP

 

Share-Based Deferred Awards (e.g. DAP, ECP, EIP and LTIP)

 

Pre-clearance is required prior to the exercise of awards

 

No exercises of awards are permitted in a Closed or Restricted Period

 

Once an award has been exercised the rules also apply to the resultant Schroders plc shares

 

A deemed exercise taking effect during a Closed or Restricted Period will be delayed until the end of the Period

 

Pre-clearance will be granted in respect of Schroders plc shares acquired by way of a deemed exercise provided it is not during a Closed or Restricted

 

Provided pre-clearance has been obtained, the Employee Benefit Trust (or any other nominee) will transfer Schroders plc shares to beneficial owners on exercise of awards, deemed exercises or when restrictions end

 

Staff and Schroders plc Directors may not cancel or surrender the grant of an award during a Closed Period

 

Schroders plc Directors and Project Insiders may not cancel or surrender the grant of an award during a Restricted Period

 

 

 

  Group Personal Account Dealing Policy 22

 

 

 

 

Schedule 1

 

Notification Template

 

1. Details of the Schroders plc Director/ person closely associated with them (PCA)
 
a) Name:
   
   
2. Reason for the notification
   
a) Position/Status:
   
   
3. Details of the transaction(s):
 
  Section to be repeated for (i) each type of instrument; (ii) each type of transaction; (iii) each date; and (iv) each place where transactions have been conducted
   
a) Description of the financial
instrument, type of
instrument:
     
                               
 
b) Nature of the transaction:
   
c) Price(s) and volume(s):
   
d) Aggregated information
   
  Aggregated volume:
   
  Price:
e) Date of the transaction:
f) Place of the transaction:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Group Personal Account Dealing Policy 23

 

 

 

 

Summary of dealing restrictions in Schroders plc shares for plc Directors and their PCAs

 

  Is clearance to
deal required?
Is dealing
permitted in an
Open Period?
Is dealing
permitted in a
Closed Period?
Is dealing
permitted in a
Restricted Period
Is notification
required following
the transaction?
Plc Director (acting on own behalf or via a non- discretionary investment manager) ü ü û û ü
PCA (acting on own behalf or via a non-discretionary investment manager) ü ü û ü ü
Discretionary investment manager (acting on behalf of plc Directors or PCAs) û ü û ü ü
Independent trust arrangement (where plc Directors or PCAs are beneficiaries) û ü û ü ü
Dividend Reinvestment Plan (DRIP) – plc Directors and their PCAs ü9 ü û10 û11 ü
Share Incentive Plan (SIP) – plc Directors ü12 ü û13 û5 ü
Trading plans (in relation to plc Directors and their PCAs) ü14 ü û15 û16 ü
Collective Investment Vehicle/Unit Trust) (in relation to the plc Directors and PCAs)17 û ü ü ü ü

 

Key: ü Dealing permitted û Dealing not permitted

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9 Plc Directors and their PCAs must obtain clearance to deal before joining or exiting the Company’s DRIP. Clearance to deal is also required prior to any subsequent dealing in any Schroders plc shares acquired through the DRIP.

10 Plc Directors and their PCAs may not join or exit the DRIP or change evergreen DRIP elections during a Closed Period.

11 Plc Directors may not join or exit the DRIP or change evergreen DRIP elections during a Restricted Period. PCAs may join or exit the DRIP within a Restricted Period.

12 During an Open Period, Plc Directors are able to join, change the terms of their participation or exit the SIP without requesting clearance to deal. However, clearance to deal is required prior to any subsequent dealing, such as a sale of any Schroders plc shares acquired through the SIP.

13 Plc Directors may not join, change the terms of their participation or exit the SIP in a Closed or Restricted Period.

14 Clearance is required to permit a plc Director or their PCA to enter into a trading plan. However, after such clearance has been given purchases of the Company’s shares under such a programme do not require further clearance.

15 Purchases under a trading plan can continue through a Closed Period provided that the instructions were given in an Open Period. Plc Directors and their PCAS are not permitted to change the instructions or exit the trading plan during a Closed Period.

16 Purchases under a trading plan can continue through a Restricted Period provided that the instructions were given in an Open Period. Plc Directors are not permitted to change the instructions or exit the trading plan during a Restricted Period.

17 If the value of Schroders’ shares within this vehicle does not constitute greater than 20 per cent. then no preclearance or notification is required.

 

  Group Personal Account Dealing Policy

 

 

 

 

Summary of dealing restrictions in Schroders plc shares for staff, their PCAs and Project Insiders

 

 

 

Is clearance to
deal required?

Is dealing
permitted in an
Open Period?
Is dealing
permitted in a
Closed Period?
Is dealing
permitted in a
Restricted Period
Is My Compliance
notification
required following
the transaction?
Staff member (acting on own behalf or via a non- discretionary investment manager) ü ü û û ü
PCA (acting on own behalf or via a non-discretionary investment manager) ü ü û ü ü
Discretionary investment manager (acting on behalf of Staff or PCAs) û ü û ü ü
Independent trust arrangement (where Staff or PCAs are beneficiaries) û ü û ü ü
Dividend Reinvestment Plan (DRIP) – Staff and PCAs ü18 ü û19 û20 û
Share Incentive Plan (SIP) – Staff and PCAs ü21 ü û22 û23 û
Trading plans - Staff and PCAs ü24 ü û25 û26 ü
Collective Investment Vehicle/Unit Trust (in relation to Staff and PCAs)27 û ü ü ü ü

 

Key: ü Dealing permitted û Dealing not permitted

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

18 During an Open Period, Staff members (other than plc Directors) and their PCAs are able to join or exit the DRIP without requesting clearance to deal. However, clearance is required prior to any subsequent dealing in any Schroders plc shares acquired through the DRIP.

19 Staff members and their PCAs may not join or exit the DRIP during a Closed Period.

20 Project Insiders may not join or exit the DRIP during a Restricted Period. PCAs may join or exit the DRIP during a Restricted Period.

21 During an Open Period, Staff members are able to join, change the terms of their participation or exit the SIP without requesting clearance to deal. However, clearance to deal is required prior to any subsequent dealing, such as a sale of any Schroders plc shares acquired through the SIP.

22 During a Closed Period, Staff may not join, change the terms of their participation or exit the SIP.

23 During a Restricted Period, Project Insiders may not join, change the terms of their participation or exit the SIP.

24 Clearance is required to permit a Staff member or their PCA to enter into a Trading Plan. However, after such clearance has been given purchases of the Company’s shares under such a programme do not require further clearance.

25 Purchases under a trading plan can continue through a Closed Period provided that the instructions were given in an Open Period. Staff members or their PCAs are not permitted to change the instructions or exit the trading plan during a Closed Period.

26 Purchases under a trading plan can continue through a Restricted Period provided that the instructions were given in an Open Period. Project Insiders are not permitted to change the instructions or exit the trading plan during a Restricted Period.

27 If the value of Schroders’ shares within this vehicle does not constitute greater than 20 per cent. then no pre-clearance or notification is required.

 

 

  Group Personal Account Dealing Policy