Sustainable Finance & Consumer Protection

Joint 2° Investing Initiative and BETTER FINANCE Webinar

24 March 2020 │ 09h30 – 16h00 | Webinar

Our survey results and literature review suggest that two-thirds of retail investors have sustainability investment objectives, and 40% want to have a measurable environmental impact in the real economy.

Meanwhile, we found that half of the 230 “sustainability-themed” retail funds we analyzed make environmental impact claims, and almost none of them comply with regulatory guidance that require claims to be specific, unambiguous and substantiated.

Another principal-agent problem relates to the use of shareholder voting rights by fund managers. While impact-oriented retail clients seem to favor engagement and use of voting rights as the best mobilization mechanism, voting rights legally belong to fund managers – who do not consult retail clients on their use.

Policy relevance:

• Delegated Act on MIFID/IDD on the integration of sustainability into financial advice

• EU Ecolabel on financial products

• Shareholder Rights Directive

• Non-financial disclosures regulation

Please note we will stream the entire webinar via Zoom (register), and you are welcome to login before your chosen session(s) and/or remain for the following sessions. The webinar will also be recorded for those who wish to watch later. For any questions, please email comms@2degrees-investing.org

Full program:

Speakers:

• Aleksandra Mączyńska, Executive Director; Edoardo Carlucci, Research & Policy Officer, BETTER FINANCE

• Stan Dupré, CEO and Co-Founder; David Cooke, Policy Manager; Pablo Felmer Roa, Senior Legal Analyst, 2° Investing Initiative

• Dr. Bo van Grinsven, Owner & Consultant, Behavioral Insights Company

• Will Pomroy, Engagement Director at Hermes Investment Management

• Dr. Rob Bauer, Professor of Finance, Institutional Investors Chair, Maastricht University

• Sebastien Godinot, Economist, WWF European Policy Office

• Dr. Julian Kolbel, Head of Research, Post-Doc, University of Zurich

I. Compliance of environmental impact claims (9:00-9:45)

9:00 – 9:30 – Misleading marketing claims – Pablo Felmer Roa & Stan Dupré (2DII), Aleksandra Mączyńska & Edoardo Carlucci (Better Finance)

9:30-9:45 [Q&A]

II. Consumer expectations (9:45-10:45)

9:45-9:55 – Policy context – Better Finance
9:55 – 10:10 – Consumer surveys – Stan Dupré (2DII) & Dr. Bo van Grinsven (Behavioral Insights Company)
10:10 – 10:25 – Behavioral finance perspective – Dr. Rob Bauer (Maastricht University)
10:25-10:45 [Q&A]
10:45-11:00 – Break

III. Environmental impact measurement: focus on engagement (11:00-12:30)

11:00-11:10 – Policy context – Sebastien Godinot (WWF)
11:10-11:25 – Measurement – Dr. Julian Kolbel (University of Zurich)
11:25-11:40 – Hermes case study – Will Pomroy (Hermes Asset Management)
11:40-11:55 – Vote for Paris / Shareholder resolutions paper – David Cooke (2DII)
11:55-12:30 [Q&A]
12:30-14:00 – Break & Lunch

IV. EU Ecolabel for Financial Products (15:00-16:00)

15:00-15:30 – Presentation of 2DII’s Ecolabel note
15:30-16:00 [Q&A]