ESG - It's not what you say, it's how you say it

However, in being tasked with taking a position on ESG, trustees don’t always have the available information, or the information framed and explained in such a way to make an informed decision about what constitutes a coherent ESG risk management policy, or responsible investment framework. Indeed, most trustees are often reliant on their asset managers and their investment consultant to inform their approach – something that can result in trustees seeing this merely as a tick box exercise, despite the ever increasing risks of doing so. Indeed, it appears that few schemes are currently going beyond the minimum regulatory requirements and few trustee boards are designing bespoke policies with many being heavily guided by advisers’ and providers’ default positions.