New PRI Guidelines Help Asset Owners Select, Appoint and Monitor Investment Managers on ESG
The Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) announced today that it has released three new Selection, Appointment and Monitoring (SAM) guides for asset owners. The new guides outline how asset owners can ensure Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) considerations remain at the heart of their relationships with their investment managers.
The new guides address each aspect of the Selection, Appointment and Monitoring process, enabling asset owners to more systematically integrate ESG factors into each step. The selection guide outlines attributes of leading approaches when selecting asset managers; The appointment guide includes 12 clauses that can be used by asset managers when writing and agreeing contractual agreements; The monitoring guide includes a set of questions or disclosures that can be used by asset owners during the regular monitoring process.
The PRI was established by a group of investor signatories in 2006, supported by the United Nations, to aid investors in integrating ESG factors into the investment process. Since its founding, the PRI has grown to over 3,000 signatories managing more than $103 trillion in assets.
PRI CEO Fiona Reynolds, said:
“Asset owners play a key role in influencing the entire investment management industry, and providing them with tools, support and opportunities for collaboration is fundamental to the PRI’s theory of change. Asset owners must be empowered to challenge investment managers, uncover greenwashing, and trigger changes in practice across ESG integration and engagement. We hope that these guides support both large and small asset owners and their advisers to incorporate ESG factors into how they relate to, cooperate with and challenge asset managers.”
According to the PRI, the guides draw on practices from the organization’s 2019 Leaders’ Group, as well as feedback from a series of workshops held during the year, to build a picture of leading practice and initiatives in this area.