How to invest for a greener future

Following the COP26 conference in Glasgow, many climate-conscious investors want to know how to match up their investments with their values. 

The short answer is environmental, social and governance investing — ESG for short. But there are plenty of questions around how ‘green’ this really is.

Thirty-year-old Harri appeared on one of the first episodes of Money Clinic last year, and his decision to invest in ESG funds appears to have paid off: he has made a decent return. However, he wonders how much this has been down to the underlying investment performance and how much because of the soaring popularity of ESG investments. With a record $3.9tn now held in sustainable assets worldwide, is this outperformance sustainable? 

Claer is joined by the FT’s Manuela Saragosa and Share Action’s Catherine Howarth, who have put ESG investing to the test. They offer practical tips on how to make greener choices with your pension,Isa and becoming an activist shareholder. Plus, they debate how worried investors should be about ‘greenwashing’. 

If you enjoyed this episode, check out five ESG themed episodes on the FT podcast Behind the Money. Want to be a future guest? Email us at money@ft.com or reach out to Claer on Instagram and Twitter: @ClaerB. 

Presented by Claer Barrett. Executive producer is Manuela Saragosa. Produced by Persis Love. Assistant producer is Talia Augustidis. Sound design by Breen Turner.

Clips: Sky News, CNBC International, UN Climate Change, Guardian News. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.