Advisers should educate and have conversations with clients about ESG but it is not suitable for everyone, according to this week’s podcast guests.
Toby Band, financial planning director at First Sentinel Wealth, explained how having conversations about sustainability with clients was something all advisers should be doing.
“When we take on a client, we will always have detailed conversations about personal circumstances and risk and for the past three or four years ESG has been part of that,” he said.
He explained he typically started off with basic questions but if it appears the client is interested then they are taken through a much more thorough questionnaire.
But he said it was important to not push ESG onto clients.
“We don't push ESG, we just have a conversation in our role as advisers. We never push anything.
"We consult, we educate and after receiving their questionnaire and responses, we have a thorough conversation about what that means for risk, what that means for the impact they might potentially make, and things like that,” he explained.
“From an adviser point of view, I don't think [ESG] should be promoted per se, but it absolutely should form part of every conversation, because our role is to find what is right for a client.”
Also appearing on the podcast, Kate Elliot, head of ethical, sustainable and impact research at Greenbank Investments, agreed it was important to educate clients about the options that are available to them.
“If we think about that for advisers, it can sometimes feel a little bit daunting,” she said.
“It can be quite a steep learning curve for people that maybe haven't been thinking about sustainability in the past.
"But I think it's important to start with those conversations, and perhaps even look at appointing some kind of sustainability experts within the organisation.”
To hear more about how to broach the topic of sustainability with clients click on the link above
amy.austin@ft.com
