Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets chair Laura van Geest calls for clearer transparency on sustainability investment choices and engagement impact

In a column in Het Financieele Dagblad, Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets chair Laura van Geest argues that investors and asset managers should openly and rigorously substantiate their investment choices, whether those choices relate to sustainability strategies or passive investing, and should avoid presenting them as self-evident. The column contrasts “engagement” and “exclusion” approaches to sustainable investing. It notes that engagement relies on a theory of change from improved ESG risk transparency and management toward real-world impact, but that evidence for real-world impact remains limited, implying caution in making causal impact claims. It also frames engagement as resource-intensive and therefore requiring quality over quantity, with effectiveness influenced by investor leverage, coordination with other shareholders, and the credibility of escalation tools such as divestment, which may be more consequential in asset classes like private equity or debt. Exclusion is described as most effective only where alternative financing is scarce, while still serving as a clear option where moral considerations dominate; both approaches narrow the investable universe and can affect diversification and returns, while passive market-tracking is presented as having its own limitations for price discovery and investor choice.