Environmental, social and governance concerns have become the buzzwords of investment. But how many banks and fund managers are simply paying lip service to ‘doing the right thing’? And how does the sector inject real meaning into responsible investing?
Three weeks ago, Stuart Kirk, the head of responsible investing at British bank HSBC, took to the stage at the Financial Times “Moral Money” Summit at the Biltmore hotel in London, and lobbed a metaphorical grenade into the audience.
Nothing could have prepared the climate activists, responsible investing pundits and consultants for Kirk’s missile. “There’s always some nut job telling me about the end of the world,” he began. “What bothers me about this one is the amount of work these people make me do.”..