Hawksmoor Investment Management has announced it is to suspend its ‘Sustainable World’ services to new clients with immediate effect, in a communication sent to clients on 30 August.
The suspension of those services, which applies to their Model Portfolio Service (MPS) and Discretionary Portfolio Management Service (DPMS), comes after the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) closed its consultation period on proposals to extend the Sustainability Disclosure Requirements (SDR) regime to portfolio managers. This is expected to take place from December this year, but, while the proposal is currently under review, the exact timings remain subject to change.
New rules came into force regarding anti-greenwashing on the 31 May 2024 as part of the FCA’s SDR regime, requiring FCA-authorised firms to ensure that their sustainability-related claims are fair, clear and not misleading, and that they are consistent with the sustainability characteristics of the product or service they provide.
Hawksmoor’s message stated that “many firms in the financial services sector, including Hawksmoor, are engaged with various trade bodies who are consulting with the FCA as a result of the proposals” and that “we anticipate there will be amendments to the current working paper”.
“Like other firms, we don’t know what the impact of the changes will be, however, we do need time to prepare for them,” it continued.
“In the best interest of our clients and due to the above changes which are expected in the coming months, we have taken the decision to temporarily suspend our current ‘Sustainable World’ services, to new clients. We are reviewing our products and services range and will keep you updated on developments.”
The statement goes on to say existing clients, including regular savers, are not affected by the suspension of the service. However, further guidance on the approach to dealing with these clients will follow in due course.
“We are engaged with third-party platforms with a view to suspending the availability of Sustainable World model portfolios as soon as is practically possible.”
