Should Environmental, Social, and Governance Influence Investment Decisions?

In partnership with the Ed Snider Center for Enterprise and Markets at the University of Maryland, the Steamboat Institute Campus Liberty Tour is proud to present a compelling debate on the following question: Should Environmental, Social, and Governance influence investment decisions?

Featured Speakers

Michael Faulkender, PhD
Professor of Finance, University of Maryland
Former Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy at the US Department of Treasury in the Trump Administration

Desiree Fixler
Sustainable Finance Professional & ESG Expert

Moderated by

Gerard Baker
Editor-At-Large
The Wall Street Journal

In recent years businesses, consumers and investors have demonstrated an interest in business practices going beyond how goods and services are bought and sold. Environmental, Social and Governance, or ESG, practices and policies of a company cover a wide range of activities that customers, investors and employees care about – for example:

• What is the environmental impact of the company?
• How does the company treat its employees or suppliers?
• Does the company have ethical business practices?

The incorporation of ESG principles by companies can be commendable, but at its worst, the practice has some companies accused of greenwashing and virtue-signaling just to sell a new product.

Those investors who care about the impact that the companies they fund have on the world, sometimes evaluate investments based on ESG criteria in addition to generally accepted financial risk measures. ESG covers subjective criteria that not even ESG advocates can agree on, but despite this, the global market for ESG investment products has grown from $19 trillion in 2014 to a projected $55 trillion in 2022. Come hear from our expert speakers and better understand the implications of considering ESG in investment decision-making.