Catherine Howarth does not shy away from conflict. The chief executive of Share-Action, the responsible investing charity, regularly goes toe to toe with the Square Mile’s most powerful figures and calls out their shortcomings on ESG issues.

This year the NGO took to task BlackRock, Vanguard, Fidelity Investments and State Street Global Advisors — the world’s four largest fund groups which have a total $38tn in assets — for doing too little to address severe human rights and environmental abuses. In December it skewered the net-zero targets of Europe’s biggest banks, such as Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank, and highlighted loopholes in their fossil fuel policies.