Responsible Defence Investment: Fiduciary Duty, Ethics and the European Investor Context.

+ Exclusion versus engagement - Is blanket exclusion of defence companies still a coherent responsible investment position? Or does stewardship through active engagement — setting expectations, monitoring practice, escalating concerns — better serve beneficiaries in a security environment that has fundamentally changed?
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+ Fiduciary duty under pressure - When ethical considerations and financial risk management point in different directions, what does fiduciary duty actually require? How are trustees and investment committees working through this — and what governance processes should be in place?

+ Applying RI frameworks to defence - How do responsible investment frameworks designed for other sectors translate to companies operating in the defence supply chain? What criteria, data sources, and engagement approaches are institutional investors actually using — and what is still missing?

+ From principles to practice - The emerging Guidance for Responsible Investment in Defence-related Companies (GRID) represents the first structured attempt to apply responsible investment principles systematically to the defence sector. This page provides access to GRID and the analysis behind it.

Three resources are available - providing the analysis, frameworks, and policy context that institutional investors need to approach responsible defence investment with rigour.

The first structured framework for applying responsible investment principles to defence sector companies. GRID builds on the 2025 concept note Principles for Responsible Defence Investment and marks the beginning of a broader consultation process with the institutional investor community. Developed for asset owners and asset managers seeking a principled, systematic approach to assessing defence-related holdings.

Download GRID → Guidance for Responsible Investment in Defence-related Companies (GRID)

Anna-Stina Wiklund's analysis of how the European institutional investor community is rethinking its approach to defence-related investments — examining the stewardship arguments, the regulatory context, and the practical implications for pension funds and asset managers operating across different European markets.

Read the article → From Exclusion to Engagement

Eurosif's research and policy perspective on how European sustainable investment frameworks are evolving in response to changing geopolitical realities.

Download Comming Soon →

LBP AM Group’s Defence industry policy defines and sets out the operational principles of the Group’s responsible investment approach with regard to investment in the Defence industry.

Download here → LBPAM Policy on responsibleinvestment in the Defence industry

This session brings together senior investment professionals and sustainability leaders from across the European institutional investor community to examine responsible defence investment directly — from fiduciary obligations and stewardship frameworks to the practical challenges of applying responsible investment principles to companies in the defence supply chain.

The discussion will also introduce the Guidance for Responsible Investment in Defence-related Companies (GRID) — the first structured framework for applying RI principles systematically to the defence sector.

Speakers:

Aleksandra Palinska - Executive Director, Eurosif. Leads Eurosif's work shaping responsible investment policy and practice across European markets.

Anna-Stina Wiklund - Sustainable Investment Advisor, Global Advisory Alliance. Former senior sustainability leader within Nordic pension funds. Author of From Exclusion to Engagement. Advises pension funds and asset managers on stewardship, SFDR, and responsible investment frameworks.
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Linda Sundberg - Head of Sustainable Investing, Church of Sweden. Former Investment Director, Swedish Ministry of Finance, responsible for governance and sustainable value creation across state-owned companies.

Camille Bisconte De Saint Julien - Human Rights and Social Lead, La Banque Postale Asset Management (LBPAM). Leads LBPAM's work on human rights and social considerations across the investment portfolio.ntegrating ESG into financial reporting, risk management, and capital allocation decisions. Navigating green finance, EU Taxonomy alignment, and sustainable bond frameworks.

Daniel Neale FICRS - Responsible Investment and Social Lead, Church Commissioners for England. Brings the perspective of one of the UK's most significant faith-based institutional investors navigating responsible investment in a changed geopolitical environment.

Moderator: Dominic Webb - Senior Reporter, Responsible Investor. Covers sustainable finance, stewardship and responsible investment across global markets.

The questions raised by responsible defence investment are not unique to the defence sector. They surface the deeper challenges that face every institutional investor trying to operationalise responsible investment at scale: how to build stewardship frameworks that hold up to scrutiny, how to apply engagement strategies when exclusion is no longer sufficient, and how to meet fiduciary obligations when ethical and financial considerations are in tension.

GAA's stewardship and responsible investment advisors work with pension funds, asset managers, family offices, and institutional investors to build the frameworks, policies, and practices that address these challenges - not as generic compliance documents, but as genuinely operational tools that reflect the specific context of each institution.

What GAA provides in this area:
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Stewardship framework design - Voting policy development, engagement programme design, and stewardship reporting aligned with the UK Stewardship Code and international standards. Built for investors who need to exercise ownership rights credibly but lack a dedicated stewardship team.

Responsible investment policy development - RI policies that reflect the specific values, beneficiary expectations, regulatory obligations, and investment beliefs of your institution. Credible, proportionate, and genuinely operational - not shelf documents.

‍Engagement strategy on complex sectors - Support for investors developing principled, defensible positions on sectors where responsible investment frameworks are still evolving — including defence, energy transition, and emerging market governance.Regulatory readiness -

Practical guidance on SFDR Article 8 and 9 obligations, EU Taxonomy alignment, ISSB/IFRS S1/S2 requirements, and UK Stewardship Code reporting. Across jurisdictions, not just Brussels.

‍Anna-Stina Wiklund leads GAA's stewardship and responsible investment advisory for European institutional investors. She has spent her career building responsible investment frameworks from inside Nordic pension funds - and now advises asset owners and managers navigating exactly these challenges.