PRI Chair says 90% of signatories paying fee, warns of delisting for inaction

Predicted drop off in numbers hasn’t materialised.

About 90% of signatories to the United Nations-backed Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) have so far paid the new mandatory fee, according to Wolfgang Engshuber, PRI Chairman. Speaking at a conference in New York organised jointly by the PRI and Private Equity International, Engshuber, Chief Administrative Officer of Munich Reinsurance (Munich Re) America, said: “We thought we would have some drop off, but that hasn’t happened.”

PRI signatories began to pay annual, sliding-scale subscriptions from April this year. Fees for some investors are set according to assets under management while other signatories pay according to staff numbers.
 The fee level for any organisation does not exceed the previous voluntary maximum of $10,000(£6,600) per annum. Engshuber said the total number of signatories had now almost reached 1,000 with assets of some €25trn.

“If signatories see the PRI as a marketing tool we will delist them.”

The fee structure could provide the PRI with a seven-figure annual revenue base to fund its work and its almost 30-strong staff.
 The PRI Chair also warned that the organisation would seek to ensure that its members are “engaged partners” in implementing its six ESG principles and take action if signatories did not step up: “If signatories see the PRI as a marketing tool then we will delist them.”