US SIF’s new CEO talks ESG challenges, opportunities for advisors
- Media Manager
- Jul 19, 2023
- 2 min read
Investment News
Written By: Emile Hallez
Published: July 20th, 2023
It's a turbulent time for ESG in the U.S., but financial advisors can benefit from learning more about the topic, Maria Lettini says.
InvestmentNews: You’re taking over at US SIF at a pivotal time for sustainable investing and ESG. Why did you want this job? What is at stake in the space right now?
Maria Lettini: ESG and sustainable investing have been around for several decades, and those were some really formidable years. But now it’s an interesting time, when we have had it becoming much more mainstream, becoming part of the quilt of how we invest, generally. For me, coming to the US SIF and coming back to the U.S. was a thoughtful career move. Because now is the moment. ESG is receiving some headwinds, particularly in the U.S.
And you can say that across sectors — it’s not just about sustainable investing. It’s transition risk. It’s the energy sector and the auto sector. It’s the agricultural sector. We need the U.S. to essentially fall in line, collaborate and cooperate.
I had a career in finance and in the institutional investor space. I then went back and studied sustainable development and finance, and that’s kind of the avenue I wanted to go. That opportunity fell in my lap to work at the UN Principles for Responsible Investment and literally grow that organization to a point where there was a substantial critical mass of investors that were incorporating those principles.
U.S. policy and U.S. corporations can lead the way. And the leadership in the U.S. has to be there. If U.S. leads, many will follow.
I really saw it as an opportunity to make a difference, personally.
IN: There are so many efforts at state and federal level to tamp down on the use of ESG factors. It doesn’t really look like any of those efforts are slowing down. If there are more restrictions that are put in place, how effective do you think these laws can be?
ML: The premise by which institutional investors are considering environmental, social and governance issues is backed by fiduciary duty. And that has been the premise for decades in some of the communities here in the U.S. Investors need to be following materiality and fiduciary duty.
