Taking A Responsible Approach To Change
Originally published on Ethical Performance Best Practice Summer 2015
The origins of financial services were good. Banks, insurance companies and investment houses used the power of the collective to pool and manage money, offering the customer a better deal than had they been acting alone.
The sector, back then, was on our side. Then along came what Bank of England Governor Mark Carney recently referred to as “ethical drifting”. The original banking ethos was replaced by a commitment to shareholders exclusively – and ensuring executive enrichment along the way.
“Now,” says Helen Wilson, Head of Responsible Business: Positive Futures Plan at Old Mutual, “we have come full circle.”
Old Mutual believes that the future lies in the past, going back to its true purpose. ‘Our message is: we’re on your side and here to help you look after your money better than you can alone and we will deliver back to you, our customers, by investing funds in ways that will create a positive future for you, your families, communities and the world at large’.
