Responsible Investment: Review of Regulatory Expectations

Governments and regulators globally have been taking views on topics relating to the broad area of RI and there has been a substantial increase in regulation in this field. In most RI regulations, the emphasis is currently on disclosure and the creation of market solutions, rather than taking a prescriptive approach on how the requirements should be implemented. Since 2018, there have been over 170 RI-related regulatory measures proposed globally – more than in the previous six years combined. The RI regulatory landscape, however; is shifting rapidly in some jurisdictions as ‘soft’ law measures are being progressively transposed into ‘hard’ law rules with ‘teeth’.

This Toolbox Memo provides a global overview of the different types of RI regulations and guidance released so far, as well as additional legislation that has been proposed.

The memo looks at these regulations through three central perspectives:

• Regulation for Investors,
• Regulation and Guidance for Investment Managers, and
• Regulation and Guidance for Issuers.

It also takes a brief look at the change that may be driven by EU RI Regulation in Europe and beyond.