COP27: Ninety One’s Du Toit calls for end to virtue signalling

Greater dialogue between asset owners, asset managers and issuers will help companies and countries meet their net zero targets, Ninety One Asset Management chief executive Hendrik du Toit told COP27 attendees.

Du Toit – who was part of a panel discussing ‘delivering net zero’ chaired by IIGCC chief Stephanie Pfeifer – said asset managers and other stakeholders working together could help each other meet net zero targets.

He said: “Normally, we talk to ourselves, financial people in one place, issuers in another. Conversation needs to be encouraged because we learn so much from the other parts of the supply chain and can collectively do better.

“By ourselves, pretending we are fantastic and virtue signalling, we will get nothing done.”

The Ninety One chief said asset owners had been instrumental in helping the asset management industry to respond to the climate challenge.

As a result, asset managers have had to sit down and look at targets and their plans before talking to the companies they invest in, said du Toit.

Supporting the transition

While many companies have responded positively to reporting their emissions and transition plans, there is still some progress required, said du Toit.

He said: “If issuers could be clearer, it would make our lives a great deal easier. We can’t ignore businesses and countries that haven’t completed their plans.

“We need to invest where the emissions are to transition them [those companies and countries], and that will take a significant amount of capital.”

Du Toit said some businesses – such as coal mining – may need to be run down over time, and investors and communities compensated. Meanwhile, companies such as oil major BP, which is committed to transitioning, will need to be held to account.

Ultimately, asset managers must preserve their investors’ assets while trying to meet their net zero objectives, said du Toit, describing it as a “subtle process, not a simple one”.

He added: “Asset managers do not own the money they invest with; it is their clients’ money. We essentially advise and implement.”