Why money managers can’t ignore the planet amid an ESG backlash

The financial services sector’s biggest mistake would be to think it is merely a bystander to the impacts of a changing climate, according to the former head of the Guardians of the NZ Super Fund Matt Whineray.

“People say to me ‘oh, I'm stuck in traffic’. You're not stuck in traffic. You are traffic. You are traffic. That's what we are.”

Whineray was chief executive at the Guardians of the Super Fund until last year and now chairs wealth management group First Cape, as well as advising the government’s climate adaptation committees and an Irish sovereign wealth fund.  

It is a challenging time for responsible investment, Whineray told attendees at Harbour Asset Management’s Responsible Investment Forum in May, with extreme weather events coupling with political polarisation of sustainable finance globally.