How Regnan became a
responsible investing pioneer
Company event
Environmental and historical event
2023
Perpetual Limited (ASX: PPT) assumes full ownership of Pendal Group
2020
Regnan expands into impact investment management, launches rebrand and welcomes a four-person impact investment team.
Read moreRead lessRegnan collaborates with Pendal to launch its first impact fund, the Regnan Credit Impact Trust Regnan launches second impact fund, Regnan Global Equity Impact Solutions fund.
2019
Pendal assumes full ownership of Regnan.
The UN warns that greater effort is needed to channel finance towards the SDGs and goals of the Paris Agreement.
Read moreRead lessThe financing gap to achieve the SDGs in developing countries is estimated to be $US2.5 – 3 trillion per year.
16-year-old Greta Thunberg becomes the face of a new generation of environmental activism when she is named Time’s “Person of the Year”.
2016
The United Nations establishes the Sustainable Development Goals — a set of 17 global problems that world leaders aim to resolve by 2030 to end poverty, inequality and tackle climate change.
Read moreRead lessThe SDGs are later adopted as a lens used by the impact investment community to analyse companies making a positive impact on society.
2015
Pendal Group increases ownership of Regnan to 50 per cent.
The Paris Agreement, a landmark environmental accord, is adopted by nearly every nation to address climate change and its negative impacts.
2023
Perpetual Limited (ASX: PPT) assumes full ownership of Pendal Group
2016
The United Nations establishes the Sustainable Development Goals — a set of 17 global problems that world leaders aim to resolve by 2030 to end poverty, inequality and tackle climate change.
Read moreRead lessThe SDGs are later adopted as a lens used by the impact investment community to analyse companies making a positive impact on society.
2015
An ocean research expedition maps the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch” — an island of 80kg kilograms of floating plastic debris floating between California and Hawaii.
2014
The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warns of dire environmental and economic consequences if developed countries do not reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
2012
UN Conference on Sustainable Development Rio+20 Summit marks 20 years since Rio.
2010
MSE merges with Regnan; now operates in Sydney and Melbourne.
BP oil drilling rig Deepwater Horizon explodes in the Gulf of Mexico, causing the biggest spill in the history of ocean oil drilling.
2014
The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warns of dire environmental and economic consequences if developed countries do not reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
2010
MSE merges with Regnan; now operates in Sydney and Melbourne.
BP oil drilling rig Deepwater Horizon explodes in the Gulf of Mexico, causing the biggest spill in the history of ocean oil drilling.
2009
Copenhagen Climate Change Conference raises climate change policy to the highest political level as 115 world leaders gather to discuss how to constrain carbon and respond to climate change.
2007
BT GAS evolves into Regnan Governance Research & Engagement.
Pendal Group established as a founding part-owner and client.
2006
MSE begins to focus its stock research on material Environmental, Social and Governance factors.
Al Gore’s influential documentary An Inconvenient Truth galvanises attention on the issue of climate change.
The UK government releases the Stern report, the most influential economic report on climate change at the time.
2005
Kyoto Protocol comes into force, legally binding developed countries to achieve goals for greenhouse gas emission reductions.
2003
CSC and BT GAS win prestigious first-tier United Nations Royal Award for Responsible Investment.
2006
MSE begins to focus its stock research on material Environmental, Social and Governance factors.
Al Gore’s influential documentary An Inconvenient Truth galvanises attention on the issue of climate change.
The UK government releases the Stern report, the most influential economic report on climate change at the time.
2003
CSC and BT GAS win prestigious first-tier United Nations Royal Award for Responsible Investment.
2002
World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg sets targets to reduce poverty and increase access to safe drinking water and sanitation.
2001
Erik Mather leads a team at Westpac to establish BT Governance Advisory Service at the request of the CSC.
BT GAS begins research into corporate and investment governance gaps with the Monash team and develops engagement practices with ASX-listed companies.
Doha World Trade Organization meeting recognises environment and development concerns.
2000
MCEM becomes Monash Sustainability Enterprises (MSE).
UN Millennium Summit: world leaders agrees to eight Millennium Development Goals to combat poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, environmental degradation and gender discrimination by 2015.
1999
Third World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference held in Seattle amid demonstrations as thousands to the streets in the first anti-globalisation protests.
2000
MCEM becomes Monash Sustainability Enterprises (MSE).
UN Millennium Summit: world leaders agrees to eight Millennium Development Goals to combat poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, environmental degradation and gender discrimination by 2015.
1997
MCEM begins working with Westpac’s Erik Mather to focus on investment markets.
1997
UN General Assembly warns of lack of progress implementing Earth Summit’s Agenda 21.
Kyoto Protocol on greenhouse gases is agreed.
1996
The seed for Regnan is planted when the superannuation fund now known as Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation (CSC) asks Monash University to investigate the business impact of environmental issues.
Monash University establishes a commercial enterprise focused on environmental risk, initially known as Monash Centre for Environmental Management (MCEM).
1992
Earth Summit, the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development is held in Rio de Janeiro. Agreements on Agenda 21 action plan and Framework Convention on Climate Change.
UN Millennium Summit: world leaders agrees to eight Millennium Development Goals to combat poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, environmental degradation and gender discrimination by 2015.
1989
The Exxon Valdez tanker spills 11 million gallons of oil over 1300 square miles of ocean with oil — the biggest oil spill in US history.
1988
International Panel on Climate Change is founded to monitor scientific progress on global warming.
1997
UN General Assembly warns of lack of progress implementing Earth Summit’s Agenda 21.
Kyoto Protocol on greenhouse gases is agreed.
1992
Earth Summit, the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development is held in Rio de Janeiro. Agreements on Agenda 21 action plan and Framework Convention on Climate Change.
UN Millennium Summit: world leaders agrees to eight Millennium Development Goals to combat poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, environmental degradation and gender discrimination by 2015.
1988
International Panel on Climate Change is founded to monitor scientific progress on global warming.
Regnan’s history is a tale of a pioneering partnership that began with an unconventional and forward-thinking request from the superannuation fund we now know as Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation (CSC), a ground-breaking response from investment house Pendal (formerly BT Investment Management) and an innovative process built under the exacting standards of Monash University.
In 1996 Monash University established a commercial enterprise with a focus on environmental risk, initially known as Monash Centre for Environmental Management (MCEM) and later as Monash Sustainability Enterprises (MSE). The group began working with Erik Mather, who was involved in developing early sustainable investment products for Westpac Investment Management.
By the early 2000s, this team and its clients were becoming more concerned about value destruction attributable to poor corporate governance, disregard for the importance of licence to operate and inattention to the financial consequences of environmental risks.
It was apparent some of these factors lay beyond the reach of traditional investment research and investment practice.
With outcomes for its members in mind, CSC drove and funded the establishment of BT Governance Advisory Service (BT GAS) in 2001 under Erik Mather. Mather would go on to be the founding managing director of Regnan.
ON behalf of CSC, BT GAS began working with the Monash team to research corporate and investment governance gaps, deploying this via an innovative overlay service.
BT GAS developed engagement practices with ASX-listed companies in a constructive manner to drive improvements in areas as diverse as audit arrangements, executive pay, environmental disclosures and workplace safety.
In 2003, CSC (then ARIA) and BT GAS were among only three worldwide recipients of a prestigious first-tier United Nations Royal Award for Responsible Investment for this pioneering model.
In 2007, BT GAS re-launched as Regnan – Governance Research & Engagement after its ownership had expanded to several institutional investor clients (including HESTA and VFMC).
At this time, Regnan also packaged its proprietary research for fund managers to use in their own investment processes.
The Monash partnership had resulted in a significant capability in evaluating the relationship of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors to investment value. In 2010, the Monash team merged with Regnan.
Regnan’s business evolved to a stage where it made sense to combine our ESG research, engagement and advisory capabilities with Pendal’s fundamental research capabilities to deliver improved outcomes for clients. This led to Pendal acquiring the remaining 50 per cent of Regnan in February 2019.
In late 2019 Regnan leveraged this deep experience in sustainable investing to expand into responsible investment funds management.
Regnan initially worked with Pendal to launch the Regnan Credit Impact Trust, a defensive investment strategy that invests in social and green bonds.
In 2020 Regnan welcomed a four-person, London-based impact investment team and launched the Regnan Global Equity Impact Solutions Strategy.
Today, Regnan offer strategies that combine positive impact with attractive returns while also delivering its highly regarded research and stewardship services through a team of professionals in Sydney and Melbourne.
In addition to our well-established research and engagement services, Regnan now offers responsible investment advisory to make the team’s observations and insights, gathered over many years, available to a broader audience of responsible investors.
We also extend our sincere thanks to CSC, VFMC, HESTA and Catholic Super whose leadership and strong support for investment stewardship, alongside Pendal, has helped Regnan secure positive outcomes on ESG issues in corporate Australia on behalf of fund members and the wider community since 2007.