Regulation
Allowable inducement
European commissioner for financial services, Mairead McGuinness, announced that Brussels is now “looking at tightening the conditions under which inducements are allowed” rather than a full ban, Ignites Europe reports.
Pension planning
The Pensions Regulator’s (TPR) new corporate plan for 2023 to 2024 puts the spotlight on its commitment to ensuring savers getter better value for money and outlines its plans for ongoing work with the FCA and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to develop a value for money framework. Take a look at Money Marketing for the highlights.
Sustainable Investment / ESG
ESG ebb…and flow
Funds marketed with a sustainable label were hit with $12.4bn in net outflows in the US in the past 12 months, compared with green funds in Europe adding $126.3bn. The Financial Times (FT) comments on the Morningstar data.
Zero impact?
A study of 122 Swedish equity funds has found that products run by members of the Net Zero Asset Managers (NZAM) initiative are no closer to hitting Paris Agreement targets than those that are not part of the leading climate alliance. According to the author, Cristina Cella, an advisor at the Swedish central bank Riksbank, there is “large uncertainty around what funds are actually doing”. More in Ignites Europe.
Greenwashing galore
PWC’s Global Investor Survey 2022 reveals that over three-quarters of investors believe greenwashing is “prevalent” in corporate reporting. Probably an unsurprising albeit disappointing commentary. Further details in Ignites Europe.
Industry News
Industry ire
Among the Confederation of British Industry’s (CBI) fleeing membership, suspension of external activities and the government breaking ties, the FT spoke to Rain Newton-Smith about her focus going forward, following her first day at the helm.
Way forward
Following the sale of Link Fund Solutions to Waystone Group, Investment Week reports on the FCA press release detailing the “significant redress” it negotiated for investors, and gets views on what the sale means for several of the asset and investment management companies which have Link Fund Solutions as the ACD of some of their funds and trusts. Ignites Europe has an on the record chat with Link Fund Solutions managing director Karl Midl.
People
Tributes to the late Sir Win Bischoff rightly abound. Claudia Chapman at the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) pays her respects in her LinkedIn post, highlighting his 2016 report on Corporate Culture and the Role of Boards, with insights which are still very relevant today.
Chair changes
AJ Bell has appointed Fiona Clutterbuck as its non-executive chair. Formerly chair at Hargreaves Lansdown, she will be in role from 1 May, Investment Week reports.
New NED
Irwin Mitchell Wealth Management has appointed Simon Hynes as non-executive director. Needless to say, we are very proud to have Simon as one of Fund Board Council’s (FBC) senior advisers, who shares his ongoing expertise with our membership.
Schroders shift
Schroders has appointed Iain Mackay, chief financial officer of pharmaceutical company GSK, to its board of directors. Iain will join the Schroders board on 1 January 2024 and will also become part of the audit and risk committee. Read more on Ignites Europe.
Board Business
And for further board building insights, Quoted Data has an interesting article suggesting nine considerations from skills and expertise to curiosity and independence and partnership. And Does Board Size Matter on the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance is worth a read too.
In case you haven’t seen it yet….
In the first of our new FBC interview series, Philip Warland, chats informally with plural board director, Edward Bonham Carter.
This wide-ranging interview provides insight into Edward’s perspectives on topics including; philanthropic ventures, the importance of dividends, the art of asset management, regulation, demographic forces, ESG and, of course, good governance.
Several of the news outlet cited in this blog require registration or subscription. Also, FBC takes no responsibility for the accuracy or quality of the news in the links provided above, and nor are the views and comments representative of FBC or its members, unless expressly stated. Content stored on the FBC portal is freely accessible for FBC members.
