Joint submission by ShareAction, the Impact Investing Institute and ClientEarth

The joint submission argues that rather than mandating UK investment, the government should clarify fiduciary duty laws to allow trustees to consider wider societal and environmental impacts and regulate strategic asset allocation advice provided by investment consultants.

• The authors propose a legislative change to fiduciary duty that would enable pension schemes to consider the impacts of their investments on the environment, the economy, the community, financial systems, and the standards of living for members and beneficiaries.
• Clarifying fiduciary duty could increase UK investment by allowing trustees to prioritize investments in local employment, housing, health, energy, and transport infrastructure, as well as clean energy and homebuilding to manage system-level risks.
• The authors argue that existing non-statutory guidance and legal opinions, such as the Financial Markets and Law Committee (FMLC) paper and the Cushon opinion, are insufficient because they are not legally binding and cannot protect trustees from legal challenges.
• The submission calls for the regulation of strategic asset allocation advice by investment consultants, noting that this specific service is currently largely unregulated despite its critical role in determining the percentage of assets invested in the UK.
• The authors suggest that regulating strategic asset allocation advice would give pension schemes more confidence to invest in riskier, longer-term UK assets, such as private equity.

APA

ClientEarth (2025). Joint submission by ShareAction, the Impact Investing Institute and ClientEarth. https://www.clientearth.org/media/ivafxsts/wpsc-session-14-may-2025-sa-iii-ce-joint-submission-6-may-2025.pdf

Chicago

ClientEarth. Joint submission by ShareAction, the Impact Investing Institute and ClientEarth. 2025. https://www.clientearth.org/media/ivafxsts/wpsc-session-14-may-2025-sa-iii-ce-joint-submission-6-may-2025.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=ClientEarth |title=Joint submission by ShareAction, the Impact Investing Institute and ClientEarth |date=16 May 2025 |url=https://www.clientearth.org/media/ivafxsts/wpsc-session-14-may-2025-sa-iii-ce-joint-submission-6-may-2025.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{clientearth2025joint, author = {{ClientEarth}}, title = {{Joint submission by ShareAction, the Impact Investing Institute and ClientEarth}}, publisher = {ClientEarth}, year = {2025}, month = may, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/media/ivafxsts/wpsc-session-14-may-2025-sa-iii-ce-joint-submission-6-may-2025.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }