Dustyn Lanz, Senior Advisor with ESG Global Advisors Inc., was interviewed by The Globe and Mail about the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada’s (IIROC’s) updated Know Your Client (KYC) obligations, which position clients’ ESG preferences and personal values within the scope of a their potential investment objectives. An excerpt is provided below, and the full article is available here.

“The IIROC provisions create an opportunity for those who’ve been holding back. It removes any doubt as to whether it’s okay to ask clients about their values or sustainability preferences,” says Dustyn Lanz, senior advisor with ESG Global Advisors in Toronto. “I’ve spoken with many advisors over the years who wanted to engage their clients on sustainability issues but felt it was crossing a line into personal matters.”

Mr. Lanz was previously the chief executive officer of the Responsible Investment Association and led the engagement with IIROC to amend its KYC guidance. He says that while advisors have always been obligated to understand their client’s investment objectives, IIROC has now positioned ESG inclinations and individual values explicitly within the scope of those objectives.

Read the full article here via The Globe and Mail.