ESG vs fiduciary duty?

Are fiduciary duty and social responsibility categorically at odds?

Neil MacDougall, current chair of BVCA and chairman of Silverfleet Capital, thinks private equity is going to “get it in the neck” reputationally, as firms cut losses from the crisis. MacDougall was speaking at sister title Private Equity International’s Responsible Investment Forum: Tokyo and was addressing the potential conflict between fiduciary duty and socially responsible investment.

In this column, Toby Mitchenall poses the question of how environmental, social and governance fits in, or not, with PE managers’ long-established fiduciary duty.