UK asset manager Rebalance Earth has announced Ruston Smith has been appointed chair of its board. Smith (pictured) has more than four decades experience in the pensions and investment industry and has chaired or sat on the board of pensions funds, asset managers and private market companies including JP Morgan Asset Management, Tesco Pension Fund and Smart Pension. Rob Gardner,…

The European Commission announced the launch of a new consultation and call for evidence for its upcoming Circular Economy Act, kicking off the process towards launching new regulations aimed at accelerating the transition to a more circular economy, and targeting goals to double the EU’s circularity rate, and establish the EU as “the world leader on the circular economy by…

India’s securities regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), has proposed a major regulatory shift aimed at attracting public pension funds, sovereign investors, and insurance institutions to participate more actively in the country’s growing REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust) and InvIT (Infrastructure Investment Trust) markets. Under the draft rules released on 1 August 2025, a wider class of…

The development and deployment of safe and responsible AI is one of the defining challenges of our time. These technologies offer transformative potential but also come with serious risks, which is why ethical AI has been one of our top stewardship priorities since 2022. From algorithmic bias and misinformation to cybercrime and loss of privacy, the implications for individuals, societies…

This week in ESG news: Barclays reports £500 million sustainable finance revenue, then drops out of Net Zero Banking Alliance; new voluntary sustainability reporting standard for small companies adopted in EU; 21 states warn asset managers against considering sustainability and climate change as long-term risk factors; Deutsche Bank’s new Global Head of Sustainable Finance; new draft simplified CSRD sustainability reporting…

Barclays announced that it has decided to exit the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA), marking the second UK-based bank to withdraw from the UN-backed coalition dedicated to advancing global net zero goals through their financing activities, after the departure last month of HSBC. The departures of Barclays and HSBC follow the exit of all major Wall Street banks, as well as…

The European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) announced the publication of its revised Exposure Drafts of the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), significantly simplifying and scaling back reporting requirements for companies under the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). Among the key changes from the initial ESRS, the new standards remove all voluntary disclosures, and reduce reporting datapoints by 68%,…

The Silent Crisis in a Shifting Market As global pension schemes and institutional investors consolidate, the asset management industry faces a subtle yet profound challenge: remaining relevant in a world of fewer, larger, and more discerning clients. Traditional strategies, broad marketing campaigns, generic fund updates, and macroeconomic outlooks are losing traction. This crisis, though quiet, is reshaping the industry from…

Fusion energy company Helion announced that it has started working on the site of Orion, its first fusion power plant, aimed at providing carbon-free energy to offtaker Microsoft by 2028. Fusion, the process of combining two atoms to release energy, is seen as a potential source of abundant, zero-carbon power. Unlike fossil fuels, fusion does not emit carbon, and unlike…