Pacific's Thompson: 'Asset managers tend to oversell complexity'

ESG interview

Will Thompson, fund manager of Pacific Asset Management’s sustainable multi-asset portfolios, talks to Pedro Gonçalves about overpriced sustainable stocks, Tesla and how the industry has dropped the ball on making ESG transparent

What are you looking for in a company when investing through a sustainability lens? What we try to look for, in the simplest terms, is undervalued or underthought about sustainable ideas and themes.  At the moment, we are looking at the ‘S' of ESG, which we think is very underrepresented. Active managers are not necessarily doing enough work on the S. That is why we own some exposure to gender diversity and inclusion ETF. Companies with diverse boards and diverse thoughts that are empowering all genders tend to be higher quality. We also have a longevity and social change fund. Longev...