Thursday 02 April 2026 5:40 am  |  Updated:  Wednesday 01 April 2026 10:57 am

ESG is still undermining fiduciary duty

By: James Graham

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Donald Trump may have forced many banks and asset managers to drop the term ESG, but trendy diversity and net zero requirements are still very much alive, and they’re undermining your property rights, says James Graham

For some years, the term ‘ESG’ (Environment, Social, and Governance) dominated the world of finance, a shorthand for trendy investment in net zero and diversity targets. Yet in the USA, under shareholder pressure, the term was dropped in favour of less contentious ones such as ‘sustainability’, and ‘responsible investing’. Banks and asset managers were dropping out of net zero alliances and US states were blacklisting and suing ESG asset managers.

Thus, when I told people that I was researching a paper on the topic, they told me that ESG was no longer a problem. It has been dealt with; Trump has killed it.

Whilst comforting to believe that ESG no longer needs slaying, the truth is that in Britain net zero, diversity requirements and sustainability objectives still rule the day.

Almost every pension in Britain is captured by ESG. Most have rebranded, instead masquerading under the guise of responsible investing or a similar innocent sounding pseudonyms. Yet the reality remains the same.

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