Why engagement has evolved from 'puzzled frowns' to key ESG investment tool

A few short years ago, talking to clients or potential clients about our comprehensive engagement programme often led to puzzled frowns, says KBI Global Investors' Eoin Fahy. It was clear that many did not understand what engagement was, or indeed why an investment manager would see it as important. And yet recently, when I was presenting to a very large potential client and began to explain how central engagement is as part of our investment process, he impatiently told me to move on to something else as, "Everyone does engagement these days. Don't waste your time talking about that"...