Most investors are not aware that their investment is almost entirely in the Secondary Market and that is why their investment delivers no impact. Are you one of them? What is the Secondary Market? Find out more in our Research note. We share it upon a simple email request.

“How can ESG claim to drive change when fossil dependent, heavy CO2 polluting, and exploitative global supply chain firms pass the ESG benchmarks — but climate restoration projects struggle for capital?”

Claiming ethical justification for holding high-profit shares in fossil fuel or otherwise harmful industries on the basis of “shareholder engagement” is often misleading. From a governance and legal standpoint, only a minimal shareholding—often a single share—is sufficient to access shareholder meetings or submit questions, making substantial investment unnecessary for engagement purposes. Furthermore, in large-cap corporations, the influence of minority shareholders is statistically and structurally negligible. Empirical evidence from shareholder resolution outcomes indicates that such voices rarely, if ever, alter strategic direction in carbon-intensive firms. As such, justifying continued investment in destructive assets under the pretense of influence is more often a reputational hedge than a meaningful lever for change.