ESG is becoming an increasingly important issue within the global investment community today. It is having a significant impact on how we invest on behalf of clients and the structuring of capital markets. Will they be empowered to make informed decisions about their Asset Managers approach to ESG?
Headlines:
- Environmental, social and governance (ESG) refers to the three central factors in measuring the sustainability and ethical impact of a company or business.
- Asset flows into responsible investment continue to grow.
- The demand for responsible investment is changing.
- What does the asset management industry mean by responsible investment?
Key issues and challenges:
- Policy-makers are driving disruptive demand for Responsible Investing.
- What does the asset management industry mean by responsible investment? Shareholder power to influence corporate behaviour. Investor voice to influence policy-makers and regulators.
- Advocates of ESG argue that these criteria help to better determine the future financial performance of companies and so are arguably increasingly important in the context of investment management.
- ESG has an important role to play as more investors care about what companies their managers invest in.
Conclusions and solutions:
- ESG is an opportunity for advisers, not a threat: an opportunity for advisers to build and sustain closer – and more compliant – client relationships and in the process to demonstrate knowledge and professionalism.
- The changes have the potential to accelerate market developments: Suitability under MiFID II, European Commission Sustainable Finance Legislative Proposal & DWP/FCA consultation on pension trustee duties.
Expert: James Tothill - Aviva
Facilitator: Roderic Rennison - Rennison Consulting
