Goldman Sachs’ Hugh Lawson on How Climate Change Is Changing Asset Management

A changing climate is changing the climate inside one of the world’s largest asset managers. Clients of Goldman Sachs Assets Management, which manages assets on behalf of wealthy families, pensions and foundations, endowments and insurance companies. These parties have always expected the firm to recite key financial metrics about the companies they own. But increasingly, says Hugh Lawson, the head of ESG and impact investing at Goldman, clients are demanding the big Wall Street money manager know more about the qualitative aspects of what those businesses do and how they do it. In the latest episode of ImpactAlpha’s Returns on Investment podcast, David Bank dug in with Lawson about how greater investor urgency around climate, and confidence in low-carbon investment strategies, is changing investing (or isn’t).