Financial inclusion is a core building block for delivering economic growth and lifting people out of poverty. Whether that is opening a first bank account or taking out a first insurance policy for a business or personal health, the drive for greater access to financial and risk mitigating products provides structural, sustainable growth. There is … Read more

For Michael Sieg, who founded impact investment specialist ThomasLloyd exactly 20 years ago, a permanent change of mindset in sustainable investing is not just something to be hoped for – it is quite simply a necessity. “Fundamentally, it comes down to whether humankind believes there is a need for change – so we achieve a … Read more

A pensions taskforce looking at social risks and opportunities has today launched in the UK, after its initial announcement in July last year. The Taskforce on Social Factors will support pension scheme trustees and the wider pensions industry with some of the key challenges around managing social factors, including the identification of reliable data and … Read more

The rabbit is a well-loved creature by many, often symbolising intuition and associated with springtime and new beginnings. Since it’s the year of the rabbit, I wanted to share three practical tips we learn from rabbits to think about when it comes to sustainable investing, and why ESG is not just about intuition but the … Read more

Taiwan and Korea are both markets that are blessed with a number of companies for which potential change through engagement is central to the investment thesis, and in which there are therefore high-quality companies that are undervalued. This is not because of core fundamental deficiencies, but due to a deficit in terms of governance, capital … Read more

Robeco, BNP Paribas Asset Management, Aviva Investors and Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) have topped ShareAction’s ranking of asset managers on responsible investment credentials – but no group received the top AAA grade indicating improvements still need to be made. ShareAction’s annual assessment of fund groups’ performance on ESG, Point of No Returns 2023, … Read more

China built the equivalent of two new power plants per week last year, a report has found, despite the energy regulator saying no new coal power plants would be permitted solely for the purpose of bulk power generation. A report published today by Global Energy Monitor (GEM) and the Centre for Research on Energy and … Read more

Rathbone Greenbank Investments has made a double hire to expand its ethical investing team. Laura Hobbs (pictured, right) joins Greenbank as an investment director, responsible for managing charity portfolios and helping charities align their investments with their ethical values and sustainability ambitions.  She has more than 10 years’ experience working with not-for-profit clients. She previously … Read more

Congress could vote as soon as this week on a Republican resolution to overturn a Department of Labor ESG rule for retirement plans, while House and Senate Democrats recently introduced legislation to protect the regulation. Neither effort is likely to overcome Capitol Hill gridlock. In November, the DOL promulgated a regulation that allows plan fiduciaries to consider … Read more

The UK government-mandated Transition Plan Taskforce (TPT) is calling on financial firms and real-economy companies to publish their transition plans this year and is asking for input on the feature that tests out transition planning. At an event today at the Guildhall in the City of London, TPT co-chairs Amanda Blanc (pictured), Aviva CEO, and … Read more