The climate may be changing, but most institutional investors are not changing their investment strategies, according to a survey of UK asset managers published this week.
A lack of interest from clients, no clear regulatory framework and the long-term nature of climate change effects were the main reasons cited by the asset managers for their dismissal of the issue. Fiduciary duties dominate investment strategies and, unless there is a specific and immediate event, climate change is not a central concern to asset managers, said the London-based HeadLand Consultancy in its report .
One fund manager quoted in the report said: "We are not factoring climate change into mainstream investment risk because it is too long-term." Respondents defined long-term as three years.
The researchers sampled the opinion of 19 asset management houses, representing £3 trillion ($6 billion) of funds under management, in April 2007.
According to the survey, there was little evidence of investment firms incorporating climate change in top-down investment strategies. Only specialist 'green' funds and investment houses that have a strong socially responsible investment policy are factoring in climate change issues.
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