Exclusionary ESG: 'The tree that fell in the forest that no one heard'

PineBridge exec blasts 'weakest form of ESG'

An ESG policy defined by excluding companies is "the weakest form of ESG", according to Mike Kelly, global head of multi-asset at PineBridge Investments, who said the investment principle was "never supposed to be all about how you select securities", but rather "how you engage with those securities once you are an owner".

"If you are a university student in your 20s without any financial assets, making speeches [about environmental concerns] out on the campus, then good for you. Keep doing what you can," Kelly said. "But when you look at the asset management industry, it would be a shame if that is all we did." Kelly added that while credit is owed to "excluders" who "did kind of start the movement", the "real power" lies in getting asset owners and managers focused on engaging with companies for the "purpose of improvement". Fund managers overestimate social and environmental impact Passive inve...