January 2022
14Jan

UK. FCA’s SDR intent welcomed; greenwashing fears remain

The Financial Conduct Authority's (FCA) proposals on sustainability disclosure requirements (SDR) have been welcomed by industry experts, although concerns remain over the need for one "harmonised" and understandable system for all investment products. The regulator previously launched a discussion paper seeking views on the proposed SDRs for asset managers and FCA-regulated asset owners, which aim to “empower” pension scheme trustees to consider climate-related factors in their decision making. Industry organisations have welcomed the FCA’s intention behind the proposals, with Interactive Investor...

January 14, 2022
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Opinion: Do ‘ethical’ pension funds have a private equity problem?
13Jan

Do ‘ethical’ pension funds have a private equity problem?

By Brett Arends The people running public pension plans these days like to boast about their “ethical” investment policies, for example when it comes to the environment or “diversity, equity and inclusion.” Meanwhile they pour billions of dollars into secretive private-equity funds in pursuit of extra profits. Now comes yet more evidence that some of those private-equity managers in turn are using that money for the opposite of ethics. “Private equity ownership leads to an increase of 147% in the percentage of… financial...

January 13, 2022
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06Jan

The Asymmetry in Responsible Investing Preferences

By Jacquelyn Humphrey, Shimon Kogan, Jacob Sagi & Laura Starks We design an experiment to understand how social preferences affect investment decisions through stock allocations and probability assessments. The major preference channel is asymmetric in social outcomes – although negative and positive responsible investment (RI) externalities have the same magnitudes, negative externalities have greater impact on investment choices. The effect is persistent, but heterogenous. We also find asymmetries in belief formation and learning constitute a secondary channel. Overall, our results...

January 6, 2022
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06Jan

Commentary: China and ESG — a delicate balance

China and sustainable investing are two of the most important growth drivers for the asset management industry. So far, fund managers have pursued these two efforts in splendid isolation, without worrying about how activism at home might affect business in China. We expect this partition of affairs won't be sustainable for much longer. China represents the single most attractive new growth region for asset managers. It is already the second-largest market (after the U.S.) for asset management services: By year-end...

January 6, 2022
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05Jan

ESG Investing Is Not Sustainable Investing

There’s a lot of confusion in the marketplace regarding ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) and Sustainable, sometimes known as SRI (Sustainable, Responsible, and Impact) investing. Many people think the two terms are interchangeable – I’m here to tell you that they aren’t. Blackrock BLK +0.4%, Vanguard, and other big investment houses are simply capitalizing on the growing interest in values-aligned investing. In fact, they have invested a significant amount of money in marketing ESG to have you believe that they are...

January 5, 2022
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04Jan

Avances y retos sobre la gestión corporativa en asuntos ASG en Latinoamérica

Por KPMG Desde su primera edición en 1993, el informe revela que desde entonces han ocurrido cambios drásticos en cuanto a la relevancia que han cobrado los aspectos ASG (ambientales, sociales y de gobierno corporativo) para las compañías en el contexto actual. Además de los resultados globales, presentamos un acercamiento especial al contexto latinoamericano, incluyendo información de Argentina, Brasil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, México, Panamá y Perú. El documento entrega una visión detallada de las tendencias globales y regionales en sostenibilidad, a...

January 4, 2022
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December 2021

México. Las Afores participarán en proyectos ASG
31Dec

México. Las Afores participarán en proyectos ASG

A partir del próximo 1 de enero, todos los ahorros para el retiro de los trabajadores mexicanos serán invertidos con un mayor enfoque en proyectos que tengan un impacto positivo en lo ambiental, social y gobierno corporativo (ASG). Las Administradoras de Fondos para el Retiro (Afores) serán los primeros inversionistas institucionales en México que a partir del 2022 estarán regulados o de alguna manera obligados a invertir en empresas y proyectos que cumplan con la certificación ASG. Estas administradoras son las...

December 31, 2021
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30Dec

ETF investors want impact with ESG allocations, survey finds

Investors are aligning themselves with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) when allocating to ESG, according to a survey conducted by ETF Stream and Amundi. The survey of 105 investors across Europe, which featured in a report of initial findings titled ETF Scan: The Big Picture, found 35% of respondents said they want ESG exposure linked to either impact or the 17 SDGs, the most across all responses. This highlights the use case for thematic ETFs which can offer targeted...

December 30, 2021
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29Dec

Green Finance: A Shift Towards Sustainable Economic Growth

By Bazgha Khan & Noria Farooqui Green finance refers to the financial arrangements that are specific to the utilization for projects that are environmentally sustainable or projects that adopt the aspects of global climate change. It’s to extend the level of financial flows from banking, micro-credit, insurance and investment, the public, private and not-for-profit sectors to sustainable development priorities. United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) has been working to align financial systems to the 2030 sustainable development agenda to direct financial flows...

December 29, 2021
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29Dec

The Elevated Economy: Why Investors And Companies Can’t Ignore ESG

By Richard Steel Over time, public companies will be forced to take stances on environmental, social and governance issues, pressured by shareholders, public opinion, clients and customers. I believe the same will be true with pension funds and endowments. Just look at the activism around the Harvard endowment and the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund, which manages Norway’s assets and is dropping $13 billion of fossil fuel investments. Not only companies but also consumers are embracing — even demanding — an...

December 29, 2021
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