WONG From both. Altius Asset Management’s beliefs and values have ESG firmly embedded in them. But investor demand is also increasingly acting as a driver.

There are a range of factors at play. Since the adoption of the Paris Agreement there has been growing recognition that the financial sector has a role to play in the transition to a low-carbon economy. There is a
group of institutional investors that are drawn to companies which have clear social and environmental  objectives and good ESG practices. This group is only going to grow.

BERRUTTI Engagement is growing from a low base and there are real differences between leading asset owners and the rest.

In the early days we believed integrating ESG was a better way to invest because we could make better-informed investment decisions. We did this even though there was limited client interest. Today we find it comes from both sides. We see increasingly obvious risks and opportunities associated with these issues for the companies we invest in, but at the same time there is a growing push from clients to have robust processes for considering ESG issues.

KELLY Australian Ethical Investment was the fastest-growing super fund in 2016, and we’ve just received the SuperRatings ‘Fast Mover’ award for the fastest-growing fund this year. This is a good indicator of Australian interest in sustainable investment. All choices – in our personal, business and investment lives – have positive and negative impacts. The foundation of sustainable investment and a sustainable future is to maximise the goods and minimise the harms, and to make a positive difference with the capital we deploy.

Regarding whether the push for analysis is coming from within our institution or from our end clients, Australian Ethical Investment was founded to operate under socially responsible investment principles and so our ethical modus operandi is really part of our DNA rather than a response to investor pressure.

At the same time, our clients are very engaged, and we value their input and their perspectives. Our Facebook page hosts a very active dialogue about our investments, in particular about the factors we take into account.

MOORE At this stage our end-client is exclusively the Synod of the Uniting Church in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, and we manage all funds according to its ethical and ESG policy. The push from the synod to do this started more than 30 years ago and even recently the church was ahead of the game in its view on fossil fuels in the portfolio.

Our stakeholders want to have clear visibility of our investments, including feedback on how we’re investing and the results we’re seeing. Investors ask about performance but we don’t believe we give this up by investing ethically.

It is important we demonstrate that ethical investing is doing what the synod wants. We do this by engaging with the firms in which we invest, and we use the feedback we receive to demonstrate this engagement to our stakeholders. In other words, we’re not just implementing our policy but following through.