With global sustainable finance policy looking to formally classify investment products, Bloomberg brings together policy leaders and the Investment community to debate the value of a globally harmonised approach to fund classification.

The core principle across the globe is that the more central ESG is to the objectives of the fund, the stronger the disclosure requirements should be. Does the financial product deliver to its ESG claims? This roundtable seeks the views of both global policy makers, thought leaders and the investment community to understand and discuss the path forward.

In the UAE, the ADGM has recently implemented its sustainable finance framework, which includes expectations around fund labelling, and with the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) and MiFID II suitability rules in the European market, the market has seen a shift to sustainable investment with asset owners directly asking for the more sustainable product offerings. The disclosure requirements are shifting into market adopted fund labels of 'article 8' and 'article 9' prompting the European Commission to recently consult the market on a new layer of fund labels. In the UK, the FCA will shortly release its plans on the Sustainability Disclosure Requirements (SDR) setting out three proposed shapes of sustainable investment product. Similarly, the SEC is expected to release further guidance on ESG disclosures and fund labelling in their 'Enhanced Disclosures by Certain Investment Advisers and Investment Companies About ESG Investment Practices' rule. As regulatory bodies step in to define and shape sustainable investment - are their approaches fairly reflecting the evolving shape of the sustainable investment and ESG market across the world?