ESG & Me: ‘You can’t straitjacket everything into narrow definitions’

Some countries are having a hard time qualifying as desirable ESG destinations. Is there a limit to responsible investing?

In this episode of our ESG & Me series in association with AXA IM, we shine a light on the (in)compatibility of ESG with controversial governments.

Chris Iggo, chief investment officer for core investments at AXA IM, doesn’t beat around the bush: ‘There are certain countries that no one would invest in. But then there’s also a range of countries with different controversies.’

He explains how ESG analysis can help separate the wheat from the chaff both on a corporate and a sovereign level: ‘In the end, we can have a score like we have for corporates. It comes down to making a value judgement, whether we want to be associated with a particular country or regime through our investment process.’