The session was chaired by Charlotte O'Leary from Pensions for Purpose. Lorna Logan and Rob Harley, portfolio managers within Stewart Investors’ Sustainable Funds Group, shared their perspectives on the problems with ESG scores and third-party ESG data.

Event synopsis 

Not everything that matters can be measured and not everything that can be measured matters

Lorna Logan and Rob Harley specialise in selecting sustainable companies which are well-positioned to perform over the long term in global markets.

Lorna and Rob addressed the main problems associated with over-reliance on third party ESG scores and associated ESG data. During the discussion they highlighted some company examples which demonstrate the problem and shared how they assess the long term sustainability of a company without reference to third party or proprietary ESG scores.There was plenty of time to discuss the pros and cons of different approaches to assessing the sustainability of companies.

Stewart Investors – Sustainable Funds Group (SFG)

Stewart Investors manages public equity funds, taking a long term perspective to investing in high quality companies with strong stewardship. The SFG investment strategies only invest in companies that contribute to and benefit from sustainable development. SFG currently runs strategies investing in Worldwide, Emerging, Asian, European and Indian Subcontinent companies.

Lorna Logan

Lorna joined the Sustainable Funds Group at Stewart Investors in July 2017. She is an analyst and joint manager of the European Sustainability strategy with Rob Harley. Lorna also works closely with Nick Edgerton and Rob on the Worldwide Sustainability strategy. Previously, Lorna worked in roles at Colonial First State Global Asset Management (now First Sentier Investors), and prior to that, as a management consultant. Lorna has always had a strong interest in sustainability and holds a Masters in Sustainability Leadership from the University of Cambridge. Her thesis topic involved investigating pension fund members’ views of climate change and investments in fossil fuels. She also holds a BA (Hons) in Business and Psychology from the University of Strathclyde and spent time studying at Otago University in New Zealand. She has spent 8 years living in Sydney Australia, and is now based in Edinburgh.

Robert Harley

Rob joined the Sustainable Funds Group at Stewart Investors in October 2015. He is an analyst and joint manager of the European Sustainability strategy with Lorna Logan. Rob also works closely with Nick Edgerton and Lorna on the Worldwide Sustainability strategy. Previously, Rob worked in investment management roles for ten years and in the not-for-profit sustainable development sector for eight years. Rob holds an MSc in Economics from the University of St Andrews and a BA (Hons) in Political Science from the University of Natal, South Africa, both with distinction.

You can watch Stewart Investors' presentation by clicking on the button below.

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