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ESG Clarity sat down with Eric Pedersen, head of responsible investment and Nordea Asset Management (Nordea AM), to discuss what makes a successful engagement, how regulations have impacted the asset management company, and the action the firm is taking to decarbonise portfolios. Pedersen also explained why investors should be willing to engage with highly pollutant … Read more
The ESG agenda has quickly gained momentum within business and is reshaping organisational strategy, stakeholder engagement and resource allocation. Although diversity and inclusion sits within the ‘S’ of ESG, environmental sustainability often dominates ESG-related conversations and initiatives. However, there’s much DEI professionals can gain through understanding the qualities that have made ESG such a driving … Read more
The BNY Mellon Sustainable Real Return fund aims to provide some shelter during market wobbles, while also delivering long-term growth in a sustainable way. Matthew Brown and Philip Shucksmith have been the fund’s lead managers since launch in April 2018. They’re both experienced investors and have served on the Real Return team for well over a decade. … Read more
ShareAction has proposed a standardised framework for asset managers to escalate their engagement practices, after its research found fund groups were “failing to engage robustly with the companies they invest in”. In its second guidance paper in its Responsible Investment Standards and Expectations (RISE) series, ShareAction said it was difficult to see how, and to … Read more
Aquaculture, agriculture and forestry are among the industries included in the latest round of sector-specific guidance published by the Taskforce for Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), aiming to help organisations assess and disclose their impacts and dependencies on nature. The guidance provides businesses that operate in, and are connected to, the agriculture, aquaculture, forestry, mining, oil … Read more
Amundi has launched an SFDR Article 8 fund to invest across all Asian fixed income segments, with a focus on both credit and local rates markets. Diversified across corporates and sovereign issuers, the Asia Income ESG Bond fund will target high income generation with an optimised risk return profiled, employing a robust ESG framework to … Read more
In this year’s fun winter series for ESG Clarity, investment professionals in the sustainable investment industry answer questions on characters that would play them in panto, who needs to receive coal as a present, and ESG wishlists. Here, Caroline Langley, investment director at Quilter Cheviot, shares her ESG fairy godmother and panto villains, and her … Read more
Private capital flows to emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs), excluding China, have dropped 22% since 2019 despite the ESG market growing 15% to $22trn in 2022 – and $1trn of that invested for positive impact. According to State of Play 2023, a study by Impact Taskforce (ITF), these figures show the need for greater … Read more
The gap between asset managers’ climate assertions and evidence of action remains “painfully wide”, analysis from investment consultant Redington has revealed. According to the firm’s Sustainable Investment (SI) Survey, out of the 127 managers engaged with and 281 strategies covered, although 86% of strategies measure climate-related risks and opportunities, only 38% of managers report using … Read more
Accelerating ambitions, rethinking mindsets around risk/return and simply “get on with it” were the messages to the investment management industry from ESG experts on the ground at COP28 following the first week of the conference. ESG Clarity spoke to various industry professionals to find out their key takeaways from the announcements so far and the … Read more