Pressure has grown on the asset management industry out of polarised viewpoints on whether ESG should or shouldn’t be included in investment decisions. On the surface this poses a dilemma for managers in how they perform their fiduciary duty. Many are now asking the question – is ESG investing in line with fiduciary duty or … Read more
Assets in Article 9 and Article 8 funds have exceeded €5trn for the first time, research from Morningstar has found. SFDR Article 8 and Article 9 Funds: Q2 2023 in Review found despite outflows of €14.6bn from Article 8 funds in the second quarter of 2023, total assets in both Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) … Read more
Goldman Sachs Asset Management has launched two sustainable fixed income funds. The Goldman Sachs Global Impact Corporate Bond Fund and USD Green Bond Fund will select bonds that finance impactful environmental, social or sustainability projects across the corporate credit spectrum, according to the firm. “Both corporate issuance and investor appetite for social and sustainability bonds … Read more
Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) has unveiled a fund developed in collaboration with The National Trust to help investors reduce their exposure to fossil fuel companies. The Future World ESG Developed Fossil Fuel Exclusions Index Fund aims to facilitate the transition towards net zero while targeting long-term, sustainable returns. The fund will open to … Read more
T. Rowe Price has hired Caroline Ramscar as ESG investment specialist for Asia Pacific. Based in Sydney, Ramscar will work closely with clients in the region on ESG matters and also help them as they adopt more responsible investing strategies. She will also work on T. Rowe Price’s impact strategies, which cover both equities and … Read more
The European Commission (EC) has today adopted the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), but amendments including a downgrading of some disclosures from mandatory to voluntary, the phasing in of some disclosures such as Scope 3, and the ability for companies to decide what is or isn’t material, have been called a “compromise” by sustainable investment commentators. … Read more
We need only take a cursory check of global weather in recent weeks to remind ourselves of the consequences of climate change. Record temperatures in parts of the US, in southern Europe and in China is affecting the lives of an estimated 110 million people who are regularly experiencing temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius. It … Read more
With recent announcements such as the claims code for voluntary carbon market leading to greater transparency and standardisation in the market, Andrea Bonzanni, international policy director at the IETA, discusses their role at COP28 this year and what policies he is expecting to see come out of the conference. With announcements from IOSCO and others … Read more
Political wrangles over phasing down fossil fuel use and attendance to the climate summit continue to dominate talks ahead of November’s COP28 meeting, even as the UAE has announced a new focus for the meeting. With only 125 days to go to COP28, president-designate Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, and United Nations Framework Convention on Climate … Read more
Since the adoption of the Paris Agreement at COP21 in 2015, each subsequent Conference of the Parties has seen increasingly loud calls for accelerated efforts to deliver on its goals. Now, eight years on, those calls are being repeated – and it’s no exaggeration to say that this may be the last opportunity we have … Read more