It’s why so many people are seeking out pensions providers that invest in entities that are environmentally and socially sustainable, and which operate to best-practice standards of governance. At Zurich Life, it’s not enough.
“Responsible investment has a number of strands to it, with ESG being just one part,” explains Slattery. We invest in a range of companies, we engage, we vote, we take a viewpoint. We try and change from within When assessing any investment, it looks at valuation and growth prospects as well as indicators relating to ESG.
“Being an active investor means you’re not just buying the market. In such cases you don’t have the ability to influence management. This way we have the ability to engage with management and vote. That is what allows us to effect change from within.” The importance of ESG means more to some individuals than it does to others, he accepts. “Everybody is different but we see that a lot of this will be increasingly regulatory-driven by EU legislation.”