HSBC Asset Management: 'We are hoping to get rid of ESG as a label'

Christine Chow and Erin Leonard

For Christine Chow, who joined HSBC Asset Management as head of stewardship and engagement from Federated Hermes on 29 October, being part of a global bank has its advantages when it comes to implementing ESG.

HSBC - which has come under criticism in the past for its heavy investments in fossil fuels - sits at the "crossroads of trade", according to Chow. As a bank, it has traditionally been "risk averse" as it operates in a highly regulated market. The bank's asset management arm signed up to the Net Zero Asset Managers commitment in June this year.  Shortly after, it appointed Erin Leonard as head of sustainability as it sought to build out its newly created London-based sustainability office.  Leonard argued that although there are many issues to address across the firm's value chain,...