Why the ESG investment industry has the acronym backwards

While environmental and social factors dominate headlines and marketing materials, it is governance, the often-overlooked 'G', that determines whether companies actually deliver value for shareholders. The logic is straightforward: if you have good governance, you get good environmental and social outcomes. The institutional market gravitates toward 'E' and 'S' because they're more visible and accessible to those without deep investment experience. Governance, by contrast, requires operational expertise and industry knowledge to assess effectively. In the UK small-cap market, poor gov...