Corporate social responsibility | Insight Investment

Climate change requires our attention as we seek to navigate the issues to fulfil our fiduciary obligation to our clients. It is unique in terms of its complexity, uncertainty and scope for material value creation and destruction. To protect our clients' interests, we need to consider how climate change could impact their investments, and to ensure portfolios remain resilient. However, stating the exact quantum and timings of the potential impacts with any accuracy remains a huge challenge.

• We support climate-focused groups that help to ameliorate risks from issuers, including inadequate disclosure.
• We participate in industry groups as part of our work managing systemic climate risks, such as the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC).
• We developed our first climate risk ratings in 2017 as a comprehensive ranking of fixed income corporate bond issuers that enabled better engagement activity with companies. In 2020, to improve understanding of the key risks that climate change poses and further develop our offering in sustainable strategies, we expanded the scope of the ratings to create two scores for each company; one for its transitional risks and one for its physical risks.
• Our proprietary Prime climate risk ratings include data for 15 climate-related issues. For more information click here. 
• We became a signatory to the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative in early 2021. By asset class, Insight’s target includes 100% of UK government bonds, and 75% of corporate bond and equity holdings managed in the UK. Please visit Insight’s net zero pledge page for more details of our initial commitment.
• We work on behalf of our clients to identify ESG topics reflecting their priorities, and work with them, other investors, governments and, companies. Our activity may focus on building understanding, sharing expertise and/or engaging alongside and with other stakeholders on these issues. By doing so we believe we can raise standards and promote best practice, to protect our clients’ interests more effectively Click here for more information about Insight’s memberships and collaborative initiatives.

• In 2024 Insight reaffirmed its support of the Ten Principles of the United Nations Global Compact in the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption. More information is available below under Environmental Initiatives.

Impact bonds (also known as ‘use of proceeds’ bonds) have matured to an undeniably viable addition to portfolios. In large parts of the impact bond market there are lower levels of disclosure.

• To manage sustainability objectives for our clients, Insight analyses impact bonds using a proprietary framework.
• Insight has engaged in wider initiatives to help develop global standards. Insight is a member investor supporting the ICMA Green Bond Principles and Social Bond Principles and served on the Advisory Council of the Green Bond Principles and Social Bond Principles Executive Committee in 2019. In 2020, we responded to an International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) consultation to establish an International Sustainability Standards Board, which we believe could prove to be a significant step in the direction of standardisation of sustainability metrics and reporting. In 2023 we published influential research highlighting the need for the industry to consider how to account for the carbon footprint of green bonds – a question which has implications for carbon footprinting across bond and equity portfolios.

• Insight has proactively engaged with the UK government on behalf of our UK defined benefit (DB) pension scheme clients, engaging with policymakers and industry bodies through dialogue and consultation submissions. Our view is that DB schemes are the ideal vehicle to ensure the best financial outcome for their members. We have been vocal in the media and in our communications to policymakers about our belief that trustees and sponsors of UK DB schemes should be encouraged and enabled to run on their schemes for the long term, and to invest and make use of their surplus assets to realise other wide-ranging benefits. This could help reinvigorate UK capital markets and also potentially be used to bolster defined contribution pension schemes. It could also generate sizeable tax revenues for the government in the order of tens of billions of pounds. This is all achievable while protecting and enhancing the security of pensions for members and the interests of corporate sponsors. We continue to engage with the government, peers and other stakeholders on the issues. More information on our DB reform campaign site here.

   

Insight helped to drive the national conversation on proposed reforms to the UK’s Retail Prices Index (RPI) – reforms which have significant detrimental implications for millions of pensioners.

• In November 2019 we published a detailed white paper and open letter urging pension schemes, insurers, advisers and asset managers to engage with policymakers about the future consultation.
• We launched a dedicated website to connect with a broader audience of stakeholders and collate news articles in a single resource.

Our CEO, Abdallah Nauphal, wrote to the Chancellor and the Chair of the UK Statistics Authority urging that the consultation deadline, then set for 22 April 2020, be extended given the unprecedented backdrop caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The deadline was subsequently pushed back to 21 August 2020. Our CEO also met with Stephen Timms MP, Chair of the Work and Pensions Committee, to discuss the issue.

Insight has played a very active role in the interest-rate benchmark reform process, which will have implications for financial markets worldwide as well as for our clients. In 2018 we were invited to join the UK Sterling Risk-Free Reference Rates (RFR) Working Group as it was expanded to include a broader group of participants, including investment management firms. We will continue to be engaged in this topic until the full transition from LIBOR to a new risk free rate completes.

The introduction and implementation of central clearing for derivatives under EMIR in 2012 had significant implications, particularly for pension schemes in the UK and Europe, which account for the majority of Insight’s AUM. In collaboration with pension scheme stakeholders, Insight actively engaged with policymakers and regulators over these issues. Central clearing has since been introduced in the EU, where its implications are more limited overall. Our work has more recently focused on the UK, where central clearing would have had broad implications for pension scheme portfolios once a temporary exemption expired.

In January 2025 the UK government announced that it would remove any further time limit on the clearing exemption for UK defined benefit pension schemes, meaning the exemption would no longer expires in June 2025. This shift from a temporary to a long-term solution provides greater certainty for schemes. Insight has been vocal about the benefits of such a solution since central clearing was first introduced in 2012. We believe an indefinite exemption of pension schemes from clearing is in the best interests of both pension schemes and the UK economy. Mandatory clearing would have forced schemes to hold more in cash to enable them to clear, rather than to allocate their investments prudently and in pursuit of their objectives. Greater freedom to invest also retains the opportunity to boost the economy.

Colleagues take part in fundraising activities in support of a number of charities globally with a common theme of meeting basic needs. Colleagues in our offices vote on local charities to support. Most recently, the London office voted to support The Felix Project, which fights hunger and food waste, and the Manchester office selected Wood Street Mission, which works with low-income families across Manchester and Salford to provide children’s clothing, school uniforms, bedding, toys and books.

This is our corporate social responsibility charity committee. It comprises members from across the business who meet monthly to lead the development and implementation of our CSR strategy. Its mission is to promote team camaraderie through giving, awareness-raising, engagement and volunteering opportunities. 

Insight’s Community Impact Programme encompasses colleague donation and community volunteering. All permanent employees are entitled to take two volunteering days a year, partnering interests or skills with a broad selection of charities.

For employees and initiatives in scope, our parent company BNY Mellon provides dollar matching on team and individual fundraising projects and volunteering events, including donations via salary sacrifice and board service.

Our work with external partners helps us to address the societal inequities that can make it more challenging for talented people from disadvantaged backgrounds to break into our industry. See a full list of our partners on the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion page here.

Partners include RedSTART, a charity that Insight has worked with since 2023. It provides financial education to help transform the life chances of young people in the UK. Colleagues have the opportunity to volunteer and use their financial literacy to develop the financial skills of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.

In 2024, Insight became a member of the Progress Together initiative,which works to improve socio-economic diversity in UK financial services. As a member, Insight will contribute to Progress Together’s annual study. Every year, Insight also hosts work experience students from a range of universities through its partnership with upReach, an initiative which specialises in social mobility.

Our graduate and internship programmes work with the Bright Network initiative to identify candidates from under-represented groups. Insight also hosts an internship programme operated by University College London where MSc students in Computational Statistics and Machine Learning complete their thesis with projects proposed by external companies.

We are very proud to work in partnership with the Royal Academy as the lead sponsor of its Summer Exhibition, the world’s largest open submission contemporary art show. 2025 will be our 19th year as sponsor and the 257th consecutive year in which the RA has mounted the Summer Exhibition. This open, inclusive and democratic show supports the artistic community, art education and provides a display of creativity and joy for the public. The 2024 show was coordinated by sculptor Ann Christopher RA and offered a diverse array of contemporary works including prints, paintings, films, photography, sculpture, and architectural works by a mix of art by household names and emerging talent.

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Insight is very alert to the threat posed by criminals who masquerade as authorised investment firms in their attempts to defraud investors.

Please visit our Attempted Fraud page for more information about our activities plus guidance to help investors remain vigilant.

Insight, in partnership with the University of Oxford, has established a research prize for greening finance. The ‘Insight Investment – University of Oxford Prize for Greening Finance’ aims to encourage more academic research to be done on the effects of incorporating environmental considerations into investment solutions.

Nominating partner organisations, selected based on their expertise and networks, play a key role in ensuring that nominations are of a high calibre and reflect the international scope of the Prize. For more details click here.

In 2024, the outstanding research prize was awarded to Professor Rob Bauer, Professor of Finance (Chair of Institutional Investors) at Maastricht University and holder of the Elverding Chair on Sustainable Business, Culture and Corporate Regulation. The winner of the outstanding service prize was Emmanuel Faber, Chair of the International Sustainability Standards Board, and formerly the Chair and Chief Executive Officer of Danone.

In 2023, the winner of the outstanding research category was Professor Caroline Flammer, Professor of International and Public Affairs and of Climate at Columbia University. The winner of the outstanding service category was Mary Schapiro, Vice Chair of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero, Chair of the Climate Data Steering Committee, and former Chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

You can view Mary’s Lecture at the University of Oxford here.

Insight’s view is that, to support the goal of greening the global financial system, more academic research is needed across asset classes. The industry needs novel ideas with practical applications for the finance industry, such as exploring the development of new financial instruments and ways in which markets should evolve to protect the environment.

Since 2022 Insight has published a climate change report aligned to the recommendations from the Task Force on Climate-Related Disclosures (TCFD). The report includes information on how Insight views climate change and takes it into account, how these views are applied within clients’ investment strategies as well as initial scenario analysis looking at the potential impact of climate change on portfolios that Insight manages on behalf of clients. The report reflects extensive work internally on this key issue.

In 2024 Insight reaffirmed its support of the Ten Principles of the United Nations Global Compact in the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption. In our annual Communication on Progress, we described our actions to continually improve the integration of the Global Compact and its principles into our business strategy, culture and daily operations.