Tag: responsible investing

ESG investing is a term that is often used interchangeably with sustainable investing and socially responsible investing. It began in the 1960s with investors excluding stocks or entire industries from their portfolios based on business activities such as tobacco production or involvement in the South African apartheid regime.

Greenwashing is the practice of giving the wrong impression, providing false information, or fabricating a story about how a company and its products, or an investment solution, are environmentally friendly or beneficial in an environmental, social or governance (ESG) context.

Modern Portfolio Theory, introduced by Harry Markowitz in 1952, has provided the lens for the way investments have been viewed for more than 60 years. In its most basic sense, it suggests the most efficient portfolio is one that maximises the return at a set risk level.

Globally, asset managers can play a decisive role in redirecting institutional and retail investors’ capital towards achieving the decarbonisation goals set by the recent COP26 Climate Change Conference. This is our message following the conference held in Glasgow, Scotland this November, which has singled out capital, or the impactful application of capital, as a vital cog in the world’s climate response machinery.

Institutional investment is arguably a key economic driver, providing the means by which many countries can grow and develop across many different areas – in many ways it is the ‘fuel’ that powers modern economies. But, as society increasingly grapples with what a modern, inclusive, socially responsible society should look like, so many are looking to re-imagine the ingrained structures behind elements of society that need systemic change.