This webinar looks at the evidence on the efficacy of engagement strategies and examines how investors can combine divestment with effective engagement and how they can ensure that they send consistent signals to the companies they engage with.
Overview
It is often argued that an investor who is dissatisfied with a company's ESG behaviour, and who wishes to remedy the situation, needs to stay on as its shareholder and engage with it. Indeed it is believed that if the investor divests from the company, their influence over the company will cease. Moreover, the act of divesting is often presented as a passive approach that has no bearing on the company's management, a capitulation rather than a form of action.
At this webinar, we demonstrate that both divestment and engagement are actions that promote change. We also illustrate the empirical results of academic studies and show that both approaches can be effective.
Topics covered include:
Hosts
Erik Christiansen is an ESG & Low Carbon Solutions Specialist with Scientific Beta. He was previously Head of Investment Strategy with the Etablissement de Retraite Additionnelle de la Fonction Publique (ERAFP), the mandatory pension scheme for French civil servants, where he was responsible for implementing the equity and ESG strategies. He has also previously worked as a Methodology Coordinator and Analyst at Vigeo Eiris, the ESG rating agency. Erik holds a Master’s degree in Management from the ESCP Business School and is a CFA charterholder.
Felix Goltz is Research Director at Scientific Beta and a member of the EDHEC Scientific Beta research chair. He carries out research in empirical finance and asset allocation, with a focus on alternative investments and indexing strategies. His work has appeared in various international academic and practitioner journals and handbooks. He obtained a PhD in finance from the University of Nice Sophia-Antipolis after studying economics and business administration at the University of Bayreuth and EDHEC Business School.