Fidelity International and Citi bank are among 11 financial services firms to have joined non-profit ESG network Sustainable Trading.
Sustainable Trading brings together industry players to work on a roadmap for better ESG practices in the trading industry.
Among the firms joining recently were also Capital Group, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Northern Trust and Wellington Management.
In total the 41 financial services firms have now signed up and are working on defining ESG best practices tailored to their industry.
Sustainable Trading founder and director Duncan Higgins, said: “We are delighted to welcome this prestigious group of firms to Sustainable Trading.
"Their enthusiasm to participate, and their commitment to contributing time, resources and expertise, reflects the increasing importance of ESG considerations in firms’ decision-making frameworks. This spirit of collaboration will accelerate the pace of ESG change within the trading industry.”
Sustainable Trading will also oversee a benchmarking and transparency framework to communicate progress on best practice and foster an environment in which firms look to continuously improve on ESG.
Tom Stevenson, head of EMEA equity trading at Fidelity International, said: “We are pleased to join the Sustainable Trading member’s network as part of Fidelity International’s wider sustainable strategy.
"We believe by working together with our peers we can help to develop industry best practices and bring about positive change. We look forward to collaborating with members globally and across asset classes as the trading industry comes together to help deliver a more sustainable future.”
Simon Steward, head of European equity trading at Capital Group, added: “We believe evaluating ESG risks and opportunities are an essential part of generating long term investment results for our clients and it forms an integral part of Capital Group’s investment approach.
"We are delighted to be joining the Sustainable Trading Initiative to help create and develop ESG best practices for trading within financial markets."
Membership of Sustainable Trading is open to all financial market participants engaged in trading activity or providing trading-related services.
carmen.reichman@ft.com
