How policy underpins economic outcomes and why investors should engage

Policy decisions shape investability, market resilience and long-term returns. In a fragmented global economy, what role should investors play in engaging with governments as part of their stewardship approach? 

Nathan Fabian, Chief Policy & Research Officer at the PRI, is joined by Jane Ambachtsheer, Chief Sustainability Officer at BNP Paribas Asset Management. Together, they explore how investors can engage policymakers in an evidence-based, financially relevant way, from transition planning and taxonomies in Asia-Pacific to system-level risks and real-economy policy.

The conversation also examines asset-owner expectations, stewardship and collaboration, asking how investors can contribute market insight without drifting into partisanship - and what the responsible investment community needs to deliver reliable outcomes for its clients.

Detailed coverage:

Asia-Pacific policy is moving from frameworks to implementationJane and Nathan discuss transition planning, decarbonisation roadmaps and taxonomies in Japan and China, where investor-policy dialogue is increasingly pragmatic and focused on tools that improve decision-making.

Four megatrends are reshaping investment riskJane outlines four megatrends - geopolitics, the environment, innovation and demographics - and why investors need to consider both individual and interconnected system-level risks.

Financial policy and real-economy policy are two sides of the same coinThe conversation explores how investor engagement can span disclosure and taxonomy rules as well as economic policies that influence technology, transition pathways and capital deployment.

Investors can contribute evidence, not partisanshipNathan and Jane discuss why long-term investors can provide market insight on investability, risk and resilience while maintaining a financially material and objective basis for policy engagement.

Policy engagement needs clearer asset-owner expectationsJane reflects on how policy work can be harder to measure than corporate engagement, and why stronger mandates, case studies and accountability can help asset owners assess what managers are doing.

Stewardship and policy engagement should reinforce each otherCompany engagement can reveal transition barriers and opportunities that investors can bring to policymakers, while policy positions should remain consistent with voting and corporate stewardship.

Credibility and collaboration will define what comes nextThe episode closes with four priorities: local expertise and credibility, authentic collaboration, a whole-value-chain perspective and stronger demand from asset owners for focused policy engagement.

Chapters:

00:00 – Asia-Pacific: from policy frameworks to implementation03:15 – Four megatrends shaping investor risk and opportunity06:34 – Linking financial-sector policy with the real economy08:55 – How large investors decide where and how to engage14:37 – Why investors are not passive policy takers16:52 – Asset-owner expectations and measuring policy engagement21:18 – Client interests, universal ownership and system-level risks23:10 – Connecting company stewardship with policy reform25:47 – The roles investors should play in policy engagement29:15 – Credibility, collaboration and the future of policy engagement

Disclaimer:

This podcast and material referenced herein is provided for information only. It is not intended to be investment, legal, tax or other advice, nor is it intended to be relied upon in making an investment or other decision. PRI Association is not responsible for any decision made or action taken based