ESG and Sustainability
The rise of ESG factors in investment decision making will have a dramatic impact on returns and opportunities in the 21st century. A recent survey by LGT Capital Partners and Mercer showed that 57% of respondents believe that incorporating ESG standards into investment decisions will raise returns. Just 9% argued they reduce returns on investment.
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Revaia, Europe’s largest female-founded venture capital firm, has successfully raised €150 million ($160 million) for its second fund, Revaia Growth II. The funding was secured from sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and institutional investors across Europe, with support from existing partners like Bpifrance and new backers such as mutual insurer Carac and the European Investment Fund.
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More Stories on ESG and Sustainability
ESG: Best Buy’s CEO in the Dock for Alleged ‘At-Work’ Liaison
Current Best Buy CEO Corie Barry allegedly had a romantic relationship with a male colleague before taking charge as CEO in June 2019. Best Buy’s board is investigating the charge, made through an anonymous letter dated January 7.
Emission-Free Friday: Here are the Latest Funds to Push for Carbon Neutral
Carbon emissions dominated the headlines this week.
The European Commission has announced an ambitious plan to shift toward a green economy and make the EU carbon-neutral in the year ahead. The plan will cost at least one trillion euros over the next decade, require 25% of the EU budget, and involve a mix of private and public funds. EU chief Ursula von der Leyen called the project unprecedented.
ESG: Cerulli Report Says 2020 To Be “Pivotal” For Retail ESG Investing
New regulations, products, and money will make 2020 a banner year for ESG in Europe
Sustainable and responsible investing around the themes of Environment-Social-Governance (ESG) will come into its own in 2020 in Europe, says the latest monthly report by Cerulli. And demand impetus may come from retail investors, the report goes on to say.
Key Takeaways from the J.P. Morgan Asset Management “Global Alternatives Outlook”
The Global Alternatives Outlook was released by JPMorgan Asset Management this week. The report provides a 12-18-month outlook across key alternative asset classes. The report also the views of the CEOs, CIOs, and strategists from the firm’s 15 distinct alternatives investment engines. We take a look at the key takeaways from the report.
FTSE Russell Launches European Climate Risk Index
FTSE Russell has launched a new fixed income offering in Europe that weighs factors in each country’s efforts to mitigate climate change. The FTSE Climate Risk-Adjusted European Monetary Union Government Bond index is the first of its kind to measure these factors, according to the company’s press release today.
ESG: ValueAct Salutes the BlackRock “Climate Change of Heart”
ValueAct founder Jeffrey Ubben expressed his excitement this week that BlackRock chief Larry Fink had sounded an alarm around climate change. The founder of the $17 billion hedge fund has been one of the biggest supporters of ESG factors in corporate governance.
ESG: Lately-turned Tesla Bull Jim Cramer Adds Fink To The Mix
Larry Fink’s emotionally charged plug for ESG ticks all the investment boxes for Tesla.
According to Cramer, electric car maker Tesla could be a beneficiary of BlackRock’s new-found love for everything ESG.
Hedge Funds: BlackRock To Back Up ESG Rhetoric With Action
Change is afoot at BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager. The firm is finally veering around to using its enormous financial and investment clout to push for climate action, according to Reuters.
BlackRock CEO warned in his annual letter to investee CEOs, titled “A fundamental reshaping of finance,” that “climate change has become a defining factor in companies’ long-term prospects,” and that markets have been slow to reflect the growing global concerns on climate change.
ESG: A Firm’s ESG Investments Could Launch a Virtuous Circle – ISS Report
There is a mutual cause-and-effect relationship between a firm’s ESG investments and its profitability, says a report by ISS ESG.
ISS ESG is the responsible investing arm of Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS). The ISS study found that those firms which invest in improving their ESG corporate ratings are also more profitable.
BlackRock Joins Climate Action 100+
Climate Action 100+, an investor network that is pushing for disclosures into carbon emissions, has inked BlackRock to its roster. The three-year-old investor group is pushing for commitments to reduce fossil fuel-related emissions. The world’s largest asset manager joins firms like CalPERS, Allianz, and UBS Asset Management.
Private Equity: Sustainability Ratings Provider EcoVadis Gets $200 Million Investment
The Environmental-Social-Governance (ESG) space commands a lot of investing heft these days. That much is evident from the confidence placed by CVC Growth Partners in EcoVadis, a provider of sustainability ratings for global supply chains. CVC’s investment of approximately $200 million is validation of its view that ESG is extremely important to business success over the long term.
ESG: Corporate Borrowers Beware; Banks Screening for ESG, Says Fitch
ESG bites into banks’ lending to corporates, says a report by Fitch Ratings.
Fitch Ratings fielded a survey in the third quarter of 2019 and received 182 responses from banks. The survey examined how environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations are being incorporated into banks’ risk, financing, and prudential supervision frameworks.
ESG: The SEC’s Scrutiny of ESG Investing Could Be a Blessing, Say Advisers
According to the Wall Street Journal, regulators are questioning the methodologies and criteria for the selection of companies by funds that tout ESG portfolios. ESG is an acronym for environmental-social-and governance observances. ESG investing is also known as impact, or socially responsible investing.
The SEC’s move may not be such a bad thing according to advisers, says InvestmentNews.
ESG: A Global Transition to 100% Renewable Energy Costs $73T; Payback 7 Years
A group of researchers at Stanford University, led by Mark Jacobson, has prepared detailed roadmaps for 143 countries that account for 99.7 percent of all global greenhouse gas emissions. These roadmaps provide for a 100% transition to wind-water-solar (WWS) energies and storage by 2050, and 80% by 2030.
The global cost? All of about $73 trillion as per the present value of capital cost. The payback is in under seven years, and comes with massive benefits
Alternative Investments: PIMCO’s New ESG-Focused ETF
Bond giant PIMCO has launched RAFE, a smart beta ESG ETF. Here’s another environment-social-governance (ESG) focused ETF from PIMCO, the leading fixed-income fund house. Offered in collaboration with Research Affiliates, the Pimco RAFI ESG US ETF RAFE will track the Research Affiliates RAFI ESG U.S. Index. Research Affiliates RAFI ESG U.S. Index The Pimco RAFI…
ESG & Sustainability: US Companies Bled $500 Billion From ESG Scandals
The Bank of America analyzed 24 scandals relating to accounting, data breaches, sexual harassment, and other ESG issues concerning companies in the S&P 500 index. It found that over the past five years, these issues, emanating from environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices, cost the affected companies $534 billion in value.
Top-Flight Investors Back VC Firm Emphasising Diversity
A slew of high-profile investors backed Ada Ventures with $34 million. Ada Ventures will use the money to venture-finance UK-based tech entrepreneurs from under-represented groups.
Ada Ventures’ backers included TransferWise co-founder Taavet Hinrikus and later stage investment firm Atomico. Also investing were British Business Bank (the cornerstone investor), US-based Blue Sky Capital, Dubai-based Rasmala, and Silicon Valley law firm Wilson Sonsini.
High Net Worth Investors in the U.S. (and Their Next-Gen) Reach for ESG
A report by Cerulli Associates says wealthy American investors, as well as their next-gen successors, are considering ESG investing.
High net worth (HNW) investors in the US are increasingly gravitating towards environmental – social – governance (ESG) investment strategies, says Cerulli in their new report.
“Activist Wolf Packs” Could Close in on European ESG Laggards
The A&M Activist Alert is an analysis and predictor of shareholder activism in Europe. A&M used ESG ratings by Refinitiv of 1,300 European companies to segregate them into a ranking of four quartiles. Going back to 2017, A&M looked at each quartile to determine how many of its companies faced an activist attack. A total of 62% of activist targets across Europe since 2017 fall into the bottom two ESG quartiles, observed the study. Companies in these groups are, on average, 24% more likely to face an activist campaign.
Japan’s Mammoth Pension Fund Will No Longer Lend Shares to Short Sellers
Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) feels a pang of ESG conscience and bans lending its foreign holdings to bears.
The GPIF fund will lose a small but lucrative stream of revenue from stock lending. It said the practice of stock lending lacked transparency. The identity of the ultimate buyer and their intentions are not known, the fund said.
GPIF’s move is said to be triggered by environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations, and the resulting need to improve its image as an investor.
World Bank Re-Enters The Danish Green Bond Market; Six Nordic Funds Invest
World Bank issued its debut green bonds in Denmark in 1997, the first and longest maturity green bond issued in that market. After a hiatus of 22 years, the World Bank has returned to Denmark with a Danish green bond issue of DKK 3 billion (USD 441 million). Six Nordic funds subscribed to the issue.
Christopher Hohn: Activist Manager, Climate Warrior
Sir Christopher Hohn, the head of activist fund TCI, has demanded the companies improve their pollution disclosures. Those boards that fail to meet his demands will not receive his vote. In fact, he’ll vote against directors on issues like carbon emissions.
Carbon Credit Generator EcoSecurities Back in Pioneer Moura Costa’s Fold
JP Morgan acquired EcoSecurities in 2009 for $220 million but sold it in 2013 to Mercuria, the global energy, and commodity group.
According to a Reuters report, Mercuria has now sold Ecosecurities back to Pedro Moura Costa and partner Pablo Fernandez for an undisclosed amount.
Alternative Investments: Money Managers Aren’t Meeting Climate Funding Goal
Asset Managers and Climate Change