ESG

Looking for hidden ESG gems: a new frontier for responsible investing with “improvers” The ongoing Covid-19 crisis is likely to bear long-term consequences on equity investing, reinforcing the ESG vs. traditional non-ESG equity divide, with the former enjoying large structural demand. Such trends emerge from the 2020 fund flows data available thus far, which show…

In the wake of the pandemic, investors have continued to pile money into variously labelled ESG/sustainable funds. Are they doing what they say?

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’.

Gender diversity delivers benefits: ESG consulting group, Calvert, undertook extensive research into the impacts of female leadership in large companies. According to the analysis, boards with more than four women outperformed those with less.

Most fund managers or asset owners you may question to about ESG have probably stated that they are a signatory of the UN PRI at the very beginning of the conversation. Most likely, this would be mentioned as evidence of their broader commitment to ESG investing.

The recent slavery scandal surrounding the fast fashion brand Boohoo has further intensified the focus on the “S” element within ESG factors.  The “S” pillar has been gaining prominence since the start of the pandemic, with increased attention on how companies treat their workers.

A focus on oil and gas abandonment and implications for the ASX.

Liquidity is said to be the driver of this cycle. No hiding here as central banks provide largesse without restraint, while governments fret about re-election cycles to spew money at any likely voter.

The broad ESG framework is experiencing a sea change. In the past, governance and environmental issues sparked investor interest, a paradigm COVID-19 is challenging. Although climate change remains a major global issue, rapidly changing economic and financial circumstances induced by COVID-19 have investors focusing more on social issues and societal challenges.

For much of the investment industry, committing to ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) has become a recently-adopted core belief. A concept that was brought into focus  15 years ago at the 2005 Who Cares Wins conference, which examined its role in asset management and financial research, ESG has now become entrenched across the industry. Although there are still widely varying degrees of commitment to ESG, investing today in assets that adhere to these principles comfortably exceeds $US30 trillion – and is growing rapidly.

The quarter saw an onslaught of record-breaking economic data, as Australia officially entered its first recession in nearly 30 years. The economy contracted a comparatively strong 0.3% in the March quarter and is expected to fall as much as 8-10% in June as the worst of the economic shutdowns hit. It’s clear that Australia’s world leading fiscal stimulus is very much needed to support a recovery.

A new take on environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing has emerged with the launch of a fund tackling sustainable opportunities in the water and waste management sectors. Fidelity International recently launched the Fidelity Sustainable Water and Waste Fund in Australia. In what is an under-researched sector, the fund seeks to deliver strong risk-adjusted returns…