Jason Mitchell, head of responsible investment research at Man Group, has been appointed chair of the UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association (UKSIF). Having previously worked on the board, he steps up to replace Michael Meehan, managing partner at TCR Innovations, who announced his departure in June after three years to move to Canada. Mitchell … Read more
In this new series for ESG Clarity Asia, Morningstar will be diving into ESG funds available in Asia, analysing their investments, performance and ESG credentials. For this first article, Morningstar’s Mara Dobrescu takes a look at the Pimco GIS Global Bond ESG fund. This fund earns a Morningstar analyst rating of gold on its cheapest … Read more
Market participants are calling for stronger regulation of ESG ratings in Asia with growing concerns that the region is lagging the rest of the world, particularly Europe, where regulators are leading the way in providing oversight of the nascent sector. Last month, the UK Financial Conduct Authority said it had formed a group to write … Read more
The crowd at PRI in Person is always a tonic, and some Barcelona winter sunshine was also very welcome. Hot on the heels of a mixed bag at COP27, the global investment community were urged to recommit to keeping the 1.5 degree goal in play with a call for continued collaboration on climate issues. Board … Read more
As the United Nations Biodiversity Conference, COP15, opens in Montreal today, officials have urged negotiators to agree on an “ambitious and effective” post-2020 biodiversity framework and said they expect to have more to say on international finance soon. At the opening press conference yesterday, Inger Andersen, under-secretary-general of the United Nations and executive director of … Read more
The UN Biodiversity Conference in Montreal, also referred to as COP15, could do for biodiversity and the natural world what the Paris Agreement did for climate in 2015, putting it firmly on the agenda for companies, policymakers and investors. The phrase on everyone’s lips is “nature positive”, the idea that the true economic value of … Read more
Morningstar CEO Kunal Kapoor says direct indexing has the potential to get people more engaged with their money. The company recently launched a direct indexing service, with ESG being a leading factor in customization. Kapoor recently spoke with ESG Clarity about how custom features could lead to more people being interested in investing, and what that means … Read more
Republicans in the US Senate are amping up efforts to rein in BlackRock, State Street and Vanguard on ESG issues — a preview of a fight looming when the GOP takes control of the House next month. The three asset managers are using their stakes in public companies to cast proxy votes that favor a … Read more
Big investors want much more ESG data than asset managers tend to offer, a Morgan Stanley survey has found. Globally, 88% of asset owners said that ESG reporting and disclosure was important in selecting asset managers, although just 39% of managers said they offered that, according to a report last week from the Morgan Stanley … Read more
One of the world’s largest asset managers, Vanguard, is withdrawing from membership in the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative, or NZAM, the firm announced today. That development follows a year of pressure from conservative groups and prominent Republicans on financial services firms to disavow ESG-related objectives. Notably, Vanguard’s decision comes a day after Senate Banking … Read more