Just eight asset managers achieve Morningstar’s top ESG rating

Only eight global asset managers out of 97 have met Morningstar’s highest ESG commitment level rating in its latest analysis. The Morningstar ESG Commitment Level helps investors assess an asset manager’s alignment to their own sustainability preferences by providing insights into the firm’s sustainable-investing philosophies, ESG integration processes, resources and active ownership activities. Of the … Read more

Antitrust and ESG regulations ‘key obstacles’ to M&A deals in 2024

Merger and acquisition (M&A) activity could be hampered this year by the regulatory environment around ESG and antitrust rules, according to a report. ESG guidelines currently rank among the most important deal drivers, Norton Rose Fulbright’s Global M&A Trends and Risks report found, amid an overall optimistic outlook for deal activity in 2024. However, a … Read more

Q&A: ‘Climate change scenarios are not created with investors in mind’

Climate change scenarios used by investors in their financial projections “were not created with investors in mind”, and projections based upon them “could lull people into a false sense of security”, according to Professor Riccardo Rebonato, scientific director at the EDHEC-Risk Climate Impact Institute. The Institute’s research looking at Dynamic Integrated Climate-Economy (DICE) models concluded … Read more

Less than quarter of companies have issued SFDR PAI statements

Only 21.6% of management companies have issued a publicly accessible Principal Adverse Impact (PAI) statement, which fails to comply with Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation’s (SFDR) Level II technical standards. A study conducted by PwC Luxembourg, and presented in the report Principal Adverse Impact Statements in the AWM Industry: Mind the Gap, found while there were … Read more

Porter appointed chair of Big Issue Invest

The Big Issue Group has elected Mark Porter as chair of their social investment arm, Big Issue Invest (BII), replacing departing chair Warren Taylor. Porter has spent over 35 years in the financial services industry in investment management, banking and investor services, which saw him hold a number of executive and board positions within institutional … Read more

Red flags to look out for in corporate transition plans

Transition plans could become a tool of large-scale greenwashing without coherent requirements, Reclaim Finance has stated. In its report, Corporate Climate Transition Plans: What To Look For, the organisation said there are many diverse frameworks around transition planning at a global level but trying to understand the different requirements has left companies scratching their heads, … Read more

Low-carbon energy transition investment reaches record levels

Global investment in the low-carbon energy transition grew by 17% in 2023, reaching $1.77trn, with China once again the largest market for investment in the sector despite a slowdown in growth in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region. According to BloombergNEF’s (BNEF) latest report, Energy Transition Investment Trends 2024, APAC has driven global energy transition investment … Read more

Calls for more water risk disclosure in apparel industry

Clothing companies have been exposed as failing to account for and disclose water risks across their value chain. Planet Tracker, a non-profit financial think tank, analysed 3,900 documents, transcripts and filings from apparel-related companies including major brands such as Ralph Lauren, Levi Strauss and Victoria Secret, looking at how the management teams of 29 major … Read more