Alongside the wonderful Oli Barrett and Ethna Treanor, I recently hosted a series of powerful panel discussions at the FII Institute’s inaugural Regional Summit.
In a fantastic all female panel of finance experts, I was joined by Rania Nashar (PIF), Julia Hoggett (London Stock Exchange), Corinne Neale (BNY Mellon), Eugenia Jackson (PGIM) and Catherine Lenson (SoftBank).
ESG investing has become one of the most important forces in global business today, with ESG assets predicted to reach $53 trillion by 2025.
Yet emerging markets receive less than 10% of ESG investment.
Together, we explored the relationship between institutional investors and lower and middle income countries.
Historically, companies in these countries have been penalised by investors for being slower to adopt ESG targets and policies than their counterparts in high-income countries. Emerging markets currently receive less than 10% of ESG investment.
In spite of this, the conversation is changing. Motivated in part by the prospect of high returns in emerging markets, investors are shifting focus to a more proactive approach – namely engaging with portfolio companies to impact change.
Julia highlighted that the “transition must be televised”. To ensure transparency, accountability and advancement, conversations around ESG must happen in public. In the spirit of this, you can watch the event in full here.
📰 Read about my work at FII, and the rest of an extraordinary May here.