Investors pulled $5.2bn from US sustainable funds in Q1, the third quarter of outflows in a year, according to Morningstar’s Global Sustainable Fund Flows: Q1 2023 in Review report. A total of $12.4bn has exited these funds over the past year amid challenging market conditions and growing anti-ESG rhetoric – Republican governors from at least … Read more
“I just pick stocks”. Until recently, this was the typical response of a portfolio manager asked to describe their job. This no longer washes. Today, asset managers are expected to promote environmentalism and enhance social wellbeing. At least, this is a goal of the European Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation and the UK’s equivalent expected to … Read more
The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on ESG, the UK’s cross-party group dedicated to sustainable finance, is calling on the government to launch a unified ESG strategy or risk falling behind the EU, “wasting billions of pounds” and letting ‘ESG cowboys’ run amok. The APPG, which was set up in 2021, said the government should … Read more
Finance hubs such as Hong Kong and Singapore are taking steps to become sustainable finance centres in the Asia Pacific region, according to a latest commentary from Moody’s. Sustainable Finance – Asia-Pacific: Focus on sustainable finance to provide credit benefits for regional hubs found Hong Kong will play a central role in bridging global capital … Read more
The fully collateralized WisdomTree California Carbon ETP (WCCA) is now listed on the London Stock Exchange, Borsa Italiana and Germany’s Börse Xetra, with a management expense ratio of 0.49%. The New York-based exchange-traded fund provider’s newest exchange-traded product allows European investors to bet on the success of California’s carbon credit system. California’s Air Resources Board … Read more
When it comes to improving board diversity in Asia, quotas can work, and Hong Kong’s recent experience is a good example. Improving women’s representation in the boardroom has been on the agenda for companies across the globe for quite some time, and although companies in Asia have taken important steps on this front, progress remains … Read more
If you work in responsible investment, you will be well aware of the plethora of regulation coming your way. A good chunk of this is focused on disclosure to the end investor – that’s your clients and advisers. While this is admirable, there are questions about how useful and accessible some of this disclosure will … Read more
We are on the cusp of a “fourth industrial revolution based around climate” and investors need to be prepared to understand how that will impact the investable universe, said CEO of CFA UK Will Goodhart in this video interview with ESG Clarity EU. Goodhart also shared how the pushback in the US on ESG is … Read more
Invesco has launched a sustainable equity fund investing in European companies aiming to decarbonise faster than the MSCI EMU Index. The Invesco Sustainable Eurozone Equity Fund, which is classified as Article 8 under SFDR, is launching in partnership with UBS Global Wealth Management and will be managed by Invesco equity fund managers Oliver Collin and … Read more
The Asia Investor Group on Climate Change (AIGCC) has established a working group in China to “acknowledge market nuances within Asia when net zero plans are being implemented” and encourage investors in the region to decarbonise. AIGCC’s investor-led working groups allow members to participate in setting research and policy objectives for AIGCC while also growing … Read more