Sustainability Community

Excellent LinkedIn post and link to a blog and conversation with Tom Gosling on the issues and challenges for asset managers around fiduciary duty and climate risk management in absence of client specific mandates for a net zero 1.5 degree world and climate risk management and TCFD obligations: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/christopher-caldwell-a8a196_fiduciaryduty-esg-climatechange-activity-7075465807991861248-_sSi?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

The issues and debate on views around fiduciary duty of asset managers depending on asset owner/client base and their mandates are varied and complex. 

• The legal summary by the UN PRI on Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer's 2021 report A Legal Framework for Impact: sustainability impact in investor decision-making' on the limits of fiduciary duty in the absence of specific client mandates/ preferences is summarised by the UN PRI in this short publication: UK: Integrating sustainability goals across the investment industry | Thought leadership | PRI (unpri.org)  
• The updated UK Government Green Finance Strategy in March 2023 notes the DWP and the Government will engage with interested stakeholders on how they can continue to clarify fiduciary duty though a series of round tables and a working group of the Financial Markets and Law Committee (sometime during 2023).    Arguably, this review and considerations of fiduciary duty should be extended to not just cover pension trustees as asset owners but asset managers and all FCA regulated firms. 
  

Question - clarification and debate around the fiduciary duties of investment and asset managers will no doubt continue as it relates to climate risk management and sustainability in general.  Do any members have any thoughts or insights in serving clients interests or perhaps come across recent developments and other publications that might be useful in this area?