Wealthy families are increasingly embracing impact investing within their portfolios as the older generation in particular are changing their stance on aligning their values with investments, and want to leave the world a better place. A study by Campden Wealth for Global Impact Solutions Today (GIST) and Barclays Private Bank, which collected data from nearly … Read more
Japanese companies will be helped to improve the quality of their sustainability reporting under a new partnership between the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and the International Development Center of Japan (IDCJ). The sustainability advisory partnership will deliver Japanese language services built around the GRI Standards, the world’s most widely used sustainability standards. This will see … Read more
Last week, Florida formally banned the use of social or responsible considerations in its public investments, and its Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis proposed anti-ESG legislation to make that permanent. That happened the same day attorney generals from 21 states sent letters to proxy advisory firms ISS and Glass Lewis, accusing the firms of violating state … Read more
Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo are facing shareholder resolutions over their stated ambitions to reduce emissions by 2030 as part of net-zero goals. On Tuesday, As You Sow filed proposals at the banks, which the group and others have previously done in 2019 and 2020. Those resolutions follow … Read more
A group of Democrats in Washington today provided a response to the burgeoning anti-ESG movement: a congressional sustainable investment caucus. House Reps. Sean Casten, D-Ill., and Juan Vargas, D-Calif., announced the caucus “to progress past the distortion of facts and have robust, open-minded discussions about sustainable investing,” Casten said in a statement. That comes as … Read more
Companies were more than twice as likely to report environmental impact data when directly engaged by institutional investors compared with a control group, according to a report by CDP. The global non-profit reviewed the effects of investor engagement on companies causing the greatest environmental damage. It found the number of companies asked to report on … Read more
Ben Palmer is to leave Brooks Macdonald in March, after more than a decade at the investment manager, to pursue new opportunities. He joined the company as a graduate trainee in 2011, rising to become head of responsible investment (RIS) in August 2020. No details were provided about where he is expected to land. The … Read more
Despite the challenges of 2022 spilling over into 2023, demand for ESG products is expected to continue apace this year. Energy stocks’ huge outperformance meant sustainable funds, with limited exposure, were left behind in performance tables and negative rhetoric around ESG grew in the US, making 2022 the year where the ESG world encountered more … Read more
Nordea has formed a climate and environment team to oversee activities at a group level and appointed Peter Sandahl to head it up. Sandahl, whose role will be head of climate and environment and deputy head of group sustainability, will take up the position on 13 March 2023, leaving his current job as head of … Read more
Sarasin & Partners has appointed Melanie Roberts as head of the firm’s charity team, taking over from Richard Maitland, who has held the role since 2003. Roberts joined the Sarasin & Partners charity team – which currently manages £8bn of assets for more than 480 charity clients – in 2011, having previously worked at Newton … Read more