Stewardship Associate

At MFS, you will find a culture that supports you in doing what you do best. Our employees work together to reach better outcomes, favoring the strongest idea over the strongest individual. We put people first and demonstrate care and compassion for our community and each other. Because what we do matters - to us as valued professionals and to the millions of people and institutions who rely on us to help them build more secure and prosperous futures.

THE ROLE

The Stewardship Associate works with the stewardship and research teams to engage with MFS portfolio companies and ensure our votes are cast in the best long-term economic interest of our clients. The Associate will be expected to collaborate with research analysts and portfolio managers to gather and synthesize voting and engagement information for use in investment decisions. The Stewardship Associate will also provide support to the broader stewardship team and join engagement, proxy voting committee and other meetings as appropriate.

WHAT YOU WILL DO

• Gather and synthesize financially material voting and engagement information for use by research analysts and portfolio managers in their overall security analysis/ratings and evaluation of current and prospective holdings
• Ensure the timely and accurate voting of all proxy ballot items, which includes recording details on key votes for use by our investment and distribution teams
• Analyze voting items put forth in corporate proxy statements, communicating information and recommendations on key votes among the proxy voting committee and investment team
• Proactively monitor and assist in the evaluation of shareholder proposals, working with the research team to identify which proposals are more likely to be accretive to our investment thesis vs. those that may diminish or impair our thesis on a given security
• Actively contribute to engagement activities conducted by the stewardship team, with the goal of helping the broader investment team to identify the ESG topics that are financially material for each company
• Assist in the identification of voting and engagement trends for incorporation in MFS' voting guidelines, and client and regulatory reports
• Produce voting and engagement information for regulatory, funds board, client (e.g. RFP, SRD II, annual and quarterly sustainability reports), and other purposes
• Track and appraise climate commitments at focus companies within area of responsibility.
• Observe and contribute to proxy voting committee, engagement and other meetings
• Identify and implement operational and controls-related improvements

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant field (e.g. Business, Finance, Economics, Law, etc.)
• Five or fewer years of experience in stewardship or a similar field
• Strong analytical skills, able to gather and evaluate large sets of information
• Process-oriented, able to adhere to strict practices/guidelines for managing and entering votes
• Ability to work collaboratively on a wide variety of complex projects

At MFS, we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace. If you are excited about this role but your past experience doesn't align perfectly, we encourage you to apply - you might be just the right candidate for this role or others.

What we offer:

• Generous time-off provided: including "Responsible time off" for many roles, paid company holidays when the US Stock Exchange is closed, plus paid volunteer time
• Family Focus: Up to 20 weeks of paid leave for new parents, back-up care program, dependent care flexible spending account, adoption assistance, generous caregiver leave
• Health and Welfare: Competitive medical, vision and dental plans, plus tax-free health savings accounts with company contributions
• Wellness Programs: Robust wellness webinars, employee assistance program, gym reimbursement through our medical plans, fitness center discounts and more
• Life & Disability Benefits: Company-paid basic life insurance and short-term disability
• Financial Benefits: 401(k) savings plan, Defined Contribution plan- 15% of base salary invested into the Plan, competitive total compensation programs

MFS is a hybrid work environment (remote/onsite) unless otherwise stated in the job posting .

If any applicant is unable to complete an application or respond to a job opening because of a disability, please contact MFS at 617-954-5000 or email talent_acquisition@mfs.com for assistance.

MFS is an Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Employer and it is our policy to not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, disability, veteran status, or any other status protected by federal, state or local laws. Employees and applicants of MFS will not be subject to harassment on the basis of their status. Additionally, retaliation, including intimidation, threats, or coercion, because an employee or applicant has objected to discrimination, engaged or may engage in filing a complaint, assisted in a review, investigation, or hearing or have otherwise sought to obtain their legal rights under any Federal, State, or local EEO law is prohibited. Please see the Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal document and Pay Transparency Nondiscrimination Provision , linked for your reference.