ABSTRACT
Asset managers are subject to multiple regulatory constraints at the local and the international levels. A key question for the field of responsible investment is that of fiduciary duty, and how responsible investing (RI) practices correspond to that duty. In 2005, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, the global law firm headquartered in London, published a report entitled A Legal Framework for the Integration of Environmental, Social and Governance Issues into Institutional Investment , which marked a milestone by legally recognizing the integration of environment, social and governance (ESG) factors by the institutional investor without contradicting the investor’s “legal responsibility to exercise reasonable care, skill, caution and loyalty”. However, all aspects of this issue have not yet been resolved, nor has the question been settled in all regions of the world. This is clearly reflected in the obstacles to responsible investment raised by legal departments and law firms in the US in the name of fiduciary responsibility. Asset managers may be left uncertain as to the how their RI practice will be received in different legal regimes. As a major
and direct consequence, asset owners and asset managers tend to develop their RI policy in the US at a slower pace.
