The Next Frontier For Responsible Investment: Putting Health On The Investor Agenda

Population health is rapidly emerging as a financially material issue for institutional investors, yet it remains significantly underdeveloped compared to climate change and diversity, equity and inclusion in mainstream investment practice. This session presents findings from Investor Action on Health: A Review (Northeastern University / Health Foundation, February 2026), a systematic review of how asset owners and asset managers can use corporate engagement, ESG ratings, board oversight, and policy engagement to influence company behaviour across 15 priority health issues - from worker safety and nutrition to antimicrobial resistance and digital wellbeing. Drawing on lessons from the evolution of investor action on climate and EDI, the talk introduces a practical framework for matching investor action mechanisms to the maturity of specific health issues and discusses the challenges and opportunities investors face in demonstrating financial materiality and attributing impact. This session will be of interest to finance and investment professionals, policymakers, and anyone keen to understand how the investment community can be a force for better public health.Speaker: