ESG investing

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…

Money Management held its fund manager of the year awards last week. Presented by TV personality Andrew Daddo, the awards recognise stellar fund manager performance at a time when markets underwent bouts of extreme volatility. There were numerous awards in various categories, but ultimately the Fund Manager of the Year Award for 2021 was taken…

This week we caught up with Luke Spiller, a partner at Melbourne-based Scholten Collins McKissock Wealth Management. Luke is an up-and-coming leader in the financial advice industry, a ‘lifer,’ so to speak, who points to the evolution of investment markets as a key reason why he is as excited as ever to be in the…

The US$500 billion ($649 billion) investment conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) is the latest group to come under pressure for its climate change and diversity disclosures. Its response and the growing pressure offers a unique insight into the increasingly complex web that is ESG investing, and how these issues are best applied by both companies…

This year The Inside Network held its industry-leading Environmental, Social and Governance or ESG Masterclass with some of Australia’s leading thinkers from the sector, to engage with and discuss some of the biggest problems humankind is facing, and the role of investors and advisers in contributing to a more sustainable economy. Hosted by Giselle Roux,…

A key plank of the highly touted Your Future Your Super legislation is the ‘performance test’ that will apply to industry super funds and other My Super products. The sector had been somewhat immune from targeted regulation for several years, outside of aggressive questioning from Parliamentary committees and sailed through the Royal Commission ultimately unscathed….

An illustration of why an active long-short approach to the global listed infrastructure (GLI) sector makes sense. ESG funds have gained in popularity in 2020, sometimes with a material impact on underlying holdings. This has impacted GLI stocks recently, with the iShares Clean Energy ETF buying 1%-6% of companies’ floats in a matter of weeks, leading to…

It has been a busy start to the year for JP Morgan Asset Management (JPMAM), with the recently launched Global Macro Sustainable Fund seeking to capitalise on a profound structural shift in global investor preferences toward sustainability. Investors and advisers are increasingly seeking out less-correlated alternative asset classes and to ensure their investments are having…

“Green-washing” and ESG may have been the most popular words in funds management in 2020, as consumers became more interested in where their capital was being invested and what it was being used to support. An extensive list of events ranging from Westpac’s money-laundering scandal, to Rio Tinto’s sacred-sites explosions and staff under-payments, has challenged…

Governance is the pillar of environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles that investors have been actively considering for the longest period of time. This is not surprising, as in some ways, it could be said that governance is probably the most important aspect of ESG. An organisation’s board’s role is to appoint the CEO and…