ESG

Don’t tell your young folk; but being good is hard. One can “veneer” an ESG, sustainable, ethical or any-nomenclature-one-likes approach, and then turn to the much more difficult decision on how that works in practice. Take on this challenge. China produces around 90% of the global requirement for polysilicon, used in making solar panels. All…

International asset manager, Robeco, known for its extensive range of active investments, from equities to fixed income and credit, is also a pioneer in sustainable investing. Having developed a proprietary Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) framework for credit portfolios, the company now sets the standard with its credit portfolios by using SDG scores that are validated…

As covered in Ishan Dan’s article here, the Responsible Investment Association of Australia (RIAA)recently released their Benchmark Report for 2021. It is somewhat of a temperature check on the investment management industry with the RIAA increasingly standing out as the leader in responsible investment accreditation and assessment. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics some…

As investors put more and more money into ESG-focused products, so too are they getting more sophisticated in their selection – in both what they are favouring and what they are avoiding. Perhaps they should consider avoiding dividend stocks and funds. Research from Morningstar, published last week (August 26), using work by Sustainalytics, its specialist…

Evergreen Consultants has launched its proprietary Responsible Investing Grade Index (ERIG Index), which rates leading fund managers on the seven broadly accepted categories of responsible investing. These categories are those defined by the Responsible Investment Association of Australia (RIAA) as integral to a more responsible approach. According to founder Angela Ashton, the team at Evergreen…

The infrastructure sector is set to play a critical role in journey to net-zero carbon dioxide emissions. The globe will look to spend trillions over the coming decades to make it happen. Much of it will provide a tailwind for infrastructure investors. Despite concerns about the opposite, the path to net-zero emissions is a positive…

Flows into ESG-focused managed funds hit a record $2.9 billion during the June quarter, as total assets in that group jumped 66 per cent for the full 12 months, according to the latest report by Morningstar, for Australia and New Zealand. The report, based on a universe of 135 Australia and New Zealand ‘sustainable funds,’…

In recent years there has been a large increase in the number of ESG-related investment products on the market, fuelled by increasing demand from consumers who are more aware of where they are investing their money. According to the Responsible Investment Association of Australia (RIAA), about 60% of Australia’s $3 billion-plus investment management market is…

It is clear that ESG is more than a buzzword; ESG considerations are influencing more investment decisions by the day, but many are naturally questioning what impact they are actually having. Real estate and other real assets have naturally been a focus of both the US government and European Union’s fiscal stimulus policies in response…

Markets are experiencing a “manic moment” around ESG investments and less exuberance now might not be “a bad thing in the longer run”, according to Fidelity investment director Tom Stevenson. Stevenson likens the obsession with ESG to the popularity of the “Nifty 50” – stocks like Kodak, IBM and Xerox – in the 1970s and…

Leading investment bank JP Morgan this month released an article titled “Are commodities still a good inflation hedge amid decarbonization?” The piece, penned by Kerry Craig, Ian Hui and Gareth Lam, offers a detailed analysis of what may be one of the most popular ‘reflation’ trades occurring at the present time. One would struggle to…

The mooted transition to net-zero will have an “uneven impact” across sectors, presenting opportunity and risk in equal measure, according to JP Morgan Asset Management. Companies that can achieve climate-based technology solutions are set to be the “biggest beneficiaries” of any new environmental initiatives, with autos in the hot seat as one of the most…