The same research showed that 57 per cent of pension scheme members believed their investment managers should have a responsibility to manage funds in a way that is positive for society and the environment.
Jennifer Anderson, investment manager at TPT Retirement Solutions, argues that managers’ ESG credentials will become an important consideration for funds: “In situations where pension funds are allocating to new managers I expect that a fund manager’s approach to ESG will become a more important component of the overall criteria on which they are being assessed.
“In fact I suspect ESG will increasingly become the deal maker or deal breaker in many manager selection exercises.
“Again, it should be noted that these rules will not force schemes to invest ethically or in a particular sector. The pensions minister, Guy Opperman, was at pains to stress that the government would ‘never exhort or direct private sector schemes to invest in a particular way. Trustees have absolute primacy in this area.”
The new regulations are about clarity. Clarity for trustees to give them the confidence to invest for the long term, to mitigate risk and seize on emerging investment opportunities. The government’s decision to introduce these rules represents good news for savers, investors and the planet.
Fergus Moffatt is programme director and head of public policy at the UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association
