Gordon Tucker speaking at our lunch meeting on Thursday 9th May on What is ESG and how does it impact investing?
Gordon is a financial investment advisor with Forsyth Barr. He commenced his talk referring to the cyclical nature of investment, and used Warren Buffet quotes to highlight why patience is a virtue when it comes to financial investment.
Gordon explained that Environment, Social and Governance or ESG principles are used to assess the sustainability and ethical impact of an investment in a business or company. The actions and impacts of ESG can be viewed from either the lens of the investor or that of the business/firm. Forsyth Barr uses ESG criteria to check companies practices and assist investors select socially responsible investments. An example of ESG in action happened in 2016, a NZ Herald article reported how KiwiSaver dumped $109m of investments in tobacco and weapons.
Forsyth Barr carry out research and reported on a recent Meta study from the NY Stern Center that provided evidence that companies who were applying ESG principles and measuring their impacts on Environment (e.g. loss of biodiversity, resource depletion), Social, eg. Human rights and child labour, worker benefits, and Governance – equality, tax strategy, anti-bribery & corruption etc. had better structure, greater longevity and profitability than companies whose practices are not aligned towards transitioning towards a more sustainable economy.
In New Zealand, the NZ – EU free trade agreement is an example of a current ‘step up’ in terms of policy promoting better sustainability practices in return for market access.
Gordon ended his talk with the grim statistic that 2023 is now recorded as being the warmest year on record, the planet is heating up, being an average 1.2C above baseline levels from the period 1950-1980 (NASA Analysis Confirms 2023 as Warmest Year on Record - NASA). Responsible investing based on ESG principles is now an important strategy for Forsyth Barr. For more information you can access an excellent resource published by Forsyth Barr which is available on their website titled "ESG: Charting the course of Change"
Forsyth Barr carry out research and reported on a recent Meta study from the NY Stern Center that provided evidence that companies who were applying ESG principles and measuring their impacts on Environment (e.g. loss of biodiversity, resource depletion), Social, eg. Human rights and child labour, worker benefits, and Governance – equality, tax strategy, anti-bribery & corruption etc. had better structure, greater longevity and profitability than companies whose practices are not aligned towards transitioning towards a more sustainable economy.
In New Zealand, the NZ – EU free trade agreement is an example of a current ‘step up’ in terms of policy promoting better sustainability practices in return for market access.
Gordon ended his talk with the grim statistic that 2023 is now recorded as being the warmest year on record, the planet is heating up, being an average 1.2C above baseline levels from the period 1950-1980 (NASA Analysis Confirms 2023 as Warmest Year on Record - NASA). Responsible investing based on ESG principles is now an important strategy for Forsyth Barr. For more information you can access an excellent resource published by Forsyth Barr which is available on their website titled "ESG: Charting the course of Change"
If you attended Thursday's meeting and heard Gordon speak, Gordon has requested you fill out a feedback form and return it to him. Feedback helps guage whether the presentation slides hit the mark or not, and can assist Gordon when doing future presentations.
Please click here to access the feedback form, and return it filled in to Gordon.Tucker@fosythbarr.co.nz
