The popularity of ESG strategies means the world may be running out of appropriately priced investment opportunities in the sector. In this paper, Amundi writes that it may be time to look for companies that are seeking to improve their business practices but aren’t yet ‘ESG leaders’.
S y s t e m a t i c i n v e s t m e n t g r o u p P a r a m e t r i c , o f f e r a c a s e s t u d y i n t o t h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t i s s u e m i s s e d b y i n s t i t u t i o n a l i n v e s t o r s w h e n t h e y s e e k t o c h a n g e i n v e s t m e n t s t r a t e g y ; t a x .
T h e p e n e t r a t i o n o f e - c o m m e r c e i n C h i n a r e m a i n s b e l o w 2 0 % , b u t i s t h e f a s t e s t g r o w i n g a n d l a r g e s t m a r k e t o f i t s k i n d i n t h e w o r l d . T h i s p a p e r l o o k s a t t h o s e c o m p a n i e s w i n n i n g t h e b a t t l e f o r c l i c k s a c r o s s t h e A s i a n r e g i o n .
I n v e s t i n g t o i m p r o v e l i v e s i s t h e m a n t r a o f M a r t i n C u r r i e , o n e o f t h e w o r l d l e a d e r s i n E S G i n v e s t i n g . T h i s a n n u a l r e p o r t r e v i e w s t h e y e a r t h a t w a s h i g h l i g h t i n g s e i s m i c m o v e s i n s o c i e t y a m i d s t t h e p a n d e m i c a n d f l a g g i n g i t s e x t e n s i v e e n g a g e m e n t o n g o v e r n a n c e , m e e t i n g 1 7 8 c o m p a n i e s .
A c c o r d i n g t o g l o b a l a s s e t m a n a g e r F r a n k l i n T e m p l e t o n t h e r e i s n o h i s t o r i c a l c o m p a r i s o n f o r t h e m a g n i t u d e o f a g g r e g a t e d e m a n d t h a t i s c u r r e n t l y b e i n g d e s t r o y e d . S o h o w d o w e r e c o v e r ? T h r o u g h a c o m b i n a t i o n o f c o - o r d i n a t e d p o l i c y r e s p o n s e s a n d C h i n a l i k e l y l e a d i n g t h e w a y .
A s h o r t s u m m a r y s h e e t f o r c l i e n t s a n d a d v i s e r s , o u t l i n i n g t h e m a n y t y p e s a n d o p t i o n s i n t h e f a s t g r o w i n g s e c t o r .
G e n d e r d i v e r s i t y d e l i v e r s b e n e f i t s : E S G c o n s u l t i n g g r o u p , C a l v e r t , u n d e r t o o k e x t e n s i v e r e s e a r c h i n t o t h e i m p a c t s o f f e m a l e l e a d e r s h i p i n l a r g e c o m p a n i e s . A c c o r d i n g t o t h e a n a l y s i s , b o a r d s w i t h m o r e t h a n f o u r w o m e n o u t p e r f o r m e d t h o s e w i t h l e s s .
T h e C O V I D - 1 9 r e c o v e r y i s l o o k i n g m o r e U t h a n V - s h a p e d a s h o p e d , a c c o r d i n g t o W e s t e r n A s s e t M a n a g e m e n t . T h a t s a i d , l o c k d o w n s w i l l a c t o n l y a s a d i s r u p t i o n t o a s t r o n g U S r e c o v e r y , w i t h t h e g r o u p f a v o u r i n g c o n s u m e r n a m e s a c r o s s E u r o p e a n d t h e U S .
Mergers and acquisitions have come to a grinding halt this year. But activity in the renewable energy sector is heating up with a number of deals. According to Bloomberg data, in the wider market, Australia’s deal activity dropped to $13.8 billion in the first quarter of 2020, a 32 per cent drop from the 12…
Matthew Scholten is the executive chair of Scholten Collins McKissock in Melbourne. He is a Certified Financial Planner and has qualifications from the Australian Insurance Institute (AIA), the SMSF Association and the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA). Scholten became a member of the Inside Network in May 2020, seeking to create better outcomes…
