The IFRS Foundation, which oversees the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), will take over the monitoring of companies’ progress on climate-related disclosures from the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). At a Financial Stability Board (FSB) plenary meeting in Frankfurt last week, the FSB said: “Following the delivery of the TCFD’s 2023 annual status … Read more
BEA Union Investment Management has reclassified its Asia bond fund as an impact fund for Hong Kong retail investors. The BU Asia Impact Bond Fund, which was previously the BU APAC Bond Fund, invests at least 70% of its portfolio in green, social and sustainability bonds in Asia or ones denominated in Asia currencies. BEA … Read more
State Street has announced the hire of Jessica Donohue, its current executive vice president, as head of global investment insights, sustainability and impact. Reporting to Lou Maiuri, president, chief operating officer and head of investment services, Donohue will oversee sustainability efforts with a focus on delivering insights to the company’s clients and the industry. See … Read more
In recent years, AGMs have lost their sense of purpose, with annual reports published online, and shareholders no longer required to be physically present to vote on important resolutions. However, for some investors AGMs have become firmly established as a platform to bring key sustainable issues to the attention of boards and the public. Over … Read more
If company management are not sold on the human reasons for supporting employees’ mental health, there are “major financial reasons” for doing so, according to CCLA Investment Management’s stewardship lead Amy Browne. In this episode of the Green Dream, Browne explains how businesses that get mental health in the workplace right will see stronger share prices … Read more
AXA Investment Managers, Sycomore Asset Management and Trillium Asset Management are among 27 global investors representing $2,117bn in assets under management that are calling on technology companies to better assess the mental and wellbeing impacts of their products, or face votes against management or ESG score downgrades. The coalition of investors are concerned about the … Read more
Sara Bourhime, deputy head of sustainable investment, Mirabaud Asset Management Demographics are an important structural component influencing economic and sustainable development. Population expansion, migration and urbanisation all have an impact on demographic changes, causing alterations in saving, spending, investment trends but also place strain on natural resources. Secondary factors such as labour scarcity increasing workers’ … Read more
Every so often, we see reports confirming that we don’t need to sacrifice financial returns for our sustainability preferences. We got this during the Covid-19 lockdowns, when all funds that were overweight technology hugely outperformed those with exposure to the “old world” of oil and gas, industrials and airlines. Then, it all went quiet. As … Read more
Although asset managers want to see alignment between various sustainability reporting frameworks, feedback from the most recent consultation on the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) shows some are concerned standards may be ‘reduced’ in order to do so. The consultation on the first set of reporting standards closed on Friday last week, with the European … Read more
Ossiam has launched an actively managed ESG version of its global equities ETF. The ESG Shiller Barclays CAPE Global Sector Ucits ETF has been made available on the Xetra trading platform and is set to be listed on other European stock exchanges in due course, with the aim to outperform global equity markets through a … Read more