The PRI’s annual assessment process plays an important role in promoting best practice and transparency around ESG issues.

The UN-supported Principles of Responsible Investment were established in 2006, in order to help asset owners and managers encourage the integration of ESG issues into investment decision-making. There are now almost 1,400 signatories globally.

An important part of the PRI’s work involves promoting greater transparency and discussion about ESG policies and practices. To this end, all its signatories are required to submit information about their implementation of the Principles; the PRI then uses this to compile a scorecard for each organisation, ultimately ‘grading’ each one between A+ and E.

At Bridges, we’re a firm supporter of the PRI’s mission. We’ve been a signatory to the Principles since 2009, and we share its view that greater transparency can help to raise standards across the board.

As such, we’re delighted to be able to share the news that this year, Bridges has been awarded the highest rating of A+ for our overall approach to responsible investment and our ESG practices in private equity. Although the PRI does not publish league tables, this places us in the top 20% of all signatories, and in the top 5% of asset managers in our size bracket (up to $1bn).

We’re particularly pleased to receive the top grade, because it reflects the huge importance we attach to ESG best practice – not just in terms of risk mitigation, but also as a value-add opportunity. We firmly believe that better ESG practices ultimately create more value for our investors – so this has always been and will always be a central plank of our investment strategy.

For more information about the PRI, click here.