Neale Cooke from Principled shares his top tips on how to start having Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) conversations with your clients.
Why ESG conversations matter
Principled is built on the belief that people who have a clear understanding of sustainable investing are more be inclined to invest in this way.
We certainly don’t push people into investments with sustainable themes, but we do think it is important that clients are educated in this area to allow them to make an informed choice about how their investments are structured.
However, sustainable investing can be complex. Everyone has different motivations for wanting to consider sustainable investing.
Some clients may be passionate about excluding certain industries or companies from their portfolio. Others may want to focus on environmentally responsible investing, by supporting companies whose products or services are driving positive change. And some will believe that sustainable companies offer the potential for better long-term investment returns.
A values-driven approach
At its core, responsible investing is about aligning a client’s money with their values. Rather than presenting ESG investing as a pre-defined package or trend, our preferred approach centres on a personal connection. When investments reflect a client’s values, they become more than just financial assets - they represent a purposeful contribution to causes they care about and that creates a deeper sense of engagement and satisfaction.
Many clients have financial goals that extend beyond numbers. They want their investments to reflect who they are, what they believe in, and the legacy they hope to leave. By focusing on their values, we can guide them through a meaningful process of discovery and decision-making.
Tools to simplify
To help clients on this journey, I use tools like Parmenion’s ESG decision tree and the Spectrum of Capital model. These resources help clients visualise the range of sustainable investing options, from profit-driven strategies to those prioritising societal and environmental outcomes alongside financial returns.
Parmenion’s Ethical, Sustainable, and ESG decision tree simplifies complex concepts into accessible, step-by-step decisions, helping clients explore ethical fund investments as part of their preferences and see how these choices shape their portfolios. Similarly, the Spectrum of Capital model explains the continuum of investment strategies, blending financial goals and impact objectives. Most sustainable investment strategies fall somewhere in the middle, blending financial goals with impact objectives.
By mapping out where they feel comfortable on the spectrum or in the decision tree, clients gain a better understanding of their options and trade-offs, empowering them to make more informed choices.
By focusing on values, we shift the narrative from “selling a product” to facilitating a meaningful dialogue. These tools do more than guide - they’re conversation starters that build trust and engagement.
For clients, this approach transforms sustainable investing from a potentially confusing topic into an empowering opportunity to express their values through their financial choices.
And for us, it’s a chance to deepen relationships, demonstrate expertise, and differentiate ourselves in an increasingly competitive field.
This article is for financial professionals only. Any information contained within is of a general nature and should not be construed as a form of personal recommendation or financial advice. Nor is the information to be considered an offer or solicitation to deal in any financial instrument or to engage in any investment service or activity. Parmenion accepts no duty of care or liability for loss arising from any person acting, or refraining from acting, as a result of any information contained within this article. All investment carries risk. The value of investments, and the income from them, can go down as well as up and investors may get back less than they put in. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future returns.
