Investment strategies should prioritise engagement and stewardship as the primary mechanism to drive alignment with the goals of the Paris Agreement, as emphasised by the latest guidance from the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC). The Net Zero Voting Guidance is designed to support asset owners and managers in the development of their own … Read more
More than 50% of disabled consumers have encountered barriers to content, products, and physical and online retail services, according to research by The Valuable 500, the world’s biggest CEO collective. The results, which were gathered from insights from over 1,000 disabled consumers and thought leaders in 15 countries across six continents, also found only 2% … Read more
Rathbones has appointed Vanguard’s Christie Goncalves as assistant portfolio manager, to work under Bryn Jones on fixed income strategies. Goncalves (pictured) spent the past eight years at Vanguard working on global corporate ESG funds and ETFs, and as a senior trader with an emphasis in euro and sterling rates and credit. She also spent over … Read more
I recently had an engaging meeting with one of the world’s largest general partner investors active in India. We ended up debating whether ESG should be much more than a checkbox exercise and a critical part of companies’ value creation, backed up by corresponding capital expenditure. As a dedicated ESG adviser, my position will hardly … Read more
Schroders Capital has launched a semi-liquid Article 9 fund under its Schroders Greencoat umbrella, the Schroders Capital Semi-Liquid Energy Transition fund. The fund will invest in energy generation primarily though wind farms and solar parks which are at the ‘project’ stage of their businesses. Focusing predominantly on US and European companies, the fund will also … Read more
In amongst the flurry of end of year activity there contained an interesting paper from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Released in November ahead of the Sustainability Disclosure Requirements (SDR), its multi-firm review into how authorised fund managers are embedding the guiding principles in ESG and sustainable investment funds contained useful pointers that firms would … Read more
In this new series, ESG Clarity takes a deep dive into an investment firm’s stewardship activities, discovering their key focuses and processes, and what’s in their engagement toolkit. Here, Yo Takatsuki, global head of investment stewardship at J.P. Morgan Asset Management, discusses the Golden Age of Electrification and how scrutiny on asset managers’ engagement is evolving. Click … Read more
Asia is experiencing a surge in nuclear power development as it seeks to secure its energy supply and transition away from fossil fuels, opening up opportunities for investors, according to research by Barclays. The region is developing 60% of the under-construction global nuclear capacity, creating medium-term opportunities in the supply chain/capital goods companies supporting the … Read more
Aegon Asset Management has repositioned its £52m Aegon Short Dated High Yield Global Bond fund to focus on its climate transition investment criteria. The fund has been renamed the Global Short Dated High Yield Climate Transition Fund to represent its new climate transition criteria, and will be categorised as Article 8 under the EU’s Sustainable … Read more
Almost half of CEOs do not believe their businesses will be viable in a decade as tech and climate pressures accelerate, according to a PwC Global CEO Survey. The level of leaders saying their current business won’t exist if it continues on its current path has hit 45%, up from 39% in 2023, the survey … Read more