Transition finance is the fastest-growing area in sustainable investment. Over the past two years, the amount invested in transition-focused funds in Europe doubled as inflows into traditional ESG funds stalled.

The appeal of transition finance is obvious. It offers sustainability-minded investors access to a broader range of sectors and companies than “pure green” strategies, while at the same time potentially achieving more real-world decarbonisation.

But what does transition finance actually involve? Is it compatible with net-zero goals? Which industries, instruments and regions offer the best opportunities for returns? And, in the absence of regulatory clarity, do investors in the segment risk being accused of greenwashing?

In this episode, RI editor Lucy Fitzgeorge-Parker discusses the rise of transition investing with Jenn Hui-Tan, chief sustainability officer of $800 billion manager Fidelity International.

Topics covered include the hunt for high-quality data, how to assess corporate transition plans and investment opportunities in Asia, as well as the concept of a Just Transition and the shift in focus towards policy engagement.

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has put simplicity and consumer testing at the centre of its efforts to roll out fund labels to improve transparency of sustainable investment products.

For managers that are in the middle of applying labels to their funds, the process has in many ways proved more challenging than first expected – so far, only two funds have publicly announced that they have secured a label. The FCA has recognised this, and this week pushed back the deadline for compliance.

In this episode, Responsible Investor senior reporter Dominic Webb talks to deputy editor Elza Holmstedt Pell about how investors are grappling with the process and expectations for the months ahead.

Drawing on insights from conversations with key UK investors, the discussion delves deeper into the strategies of early movers, key challenges in applying the labels, but also why many investors, broadly, are happy with the FCA’s approach.

After two years of rising commodity prices, surging energy sector profits and intensifying anti-ESG rhetoric in the US, it is easy to get the impression that investors are losing their appetite for sustainability.

But industry veteran Lee Clements, now head of applied sustainable investment research at FTSE Russell, says reports of the death of ESG investing have been greatly exaggerated.

In this episode, he talks to RI editor Lucy Fitzgeorge-Parker about the numbers behind the headlines, looking at how fund flows have evolved over the past four years, which strategies and sectors have proved most resilient, and why investors should welcome the end of the "ESG hype".

Key topics include the outlook for transition finance [time stamp 14:01], how sustainability funds traditionally fare at times of market meltdown [24:00], and the sustainability case for tech stocks [26:58].