The universe of investment is changing. Millennials are twice as likely to invest in sustainable investment products as the rest of the investors. If responsible investments are considered a niche choice for the majority of the investors, they have become the norm for women and...
The 2020 Global Forest Resources Assessment informs us about a consistently declining rate of deforestation, to be explained by diminishing deforestation coupled with natural forests expansion and afforestation. The African continent is however emerging as a key hotspot, and important ecosystems, such as the Congo Basin, are...
Asset managers and younger age groups are driving the change to a more sustainable financial sector. As the second decade of the XXI century has now officially began, people are eager to rethink the very purpose of the current economic system. In October 2019, the...
"All that glitter is not gold, often have you heard that told." Tech giants have long been deemed ESG good-will ambassadors. They usually couple a meaningful value proposition together with a garageland background, which makes the formula extremely appealing to people, especially the young. However, since...
Next year at Apple’ s annual meeting, shareholders will vote a non-binding resolution for transparency over human rights policies. On 9 September 2019, SumOfUs, a consumer advocacy group, submitted the proposal claiming that the US tech company had limited individual freedom of expression kowtowing to China's will, which...
Major ESG-related controversies during the past six years were accompanied by market capitalization losses of $534 billion for large US companies over the past 5 years, according to an analysis by Bank of America Merrill Lynch. The research shows that "90% of bankruptcies in the...
Hedge funds are starting to face the increasing interest in responsible investing. According to the survey by BarclayHedge, a division of technology firm Backstop Solutions, four out of ten hedge fund managers now consider environmental, social and governance (ESG) ratings in their capital allocation decision. The reason...
As the Financial Times pointed out, a vast amount of deals occurred recently that involved ESG rating agencies: the demand for sustainability and corporate governance data has risen among investors and regulators. Today, Financial Times announced that two of the three main credit rating agencies...
Japanese companies have set up a consortium on September 16, 2019 to help improving the reporting of financial impacts of climate-related risks in order to enhance green investments and face climate change issues. 172 Japanese companies (including Mazda Motor, Nomura and Sony) are now supporting...
MSCI Inc. acquired a 100% stake in data analytics firm Carbon Delta AG through its subsidiary MSCI Barra Sarl. "Founded in 2015, Carbon Delta is a global leader for climate change scenario analysis. Together, MSCI and Carbon Delta will create an extensive climate risk assessment and...
“Credit rating agencies should not be explicitly required to consider environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) factors when assessing issuers’ creditworthiness, according to the EU financial markets watchdog.” This is what IPE claims right after ESMA (European Securities and Markets Authority) decision of excluding the explicit...
A US$ 500m ETF run by Vanguard that claims in its marketing material to specifically exclude "fossil fuel" stocks invest in several companies in the oil and gas industry, including oil services company Schlumberger, pipeline company Kinder Morgan and crude oil refiner Marathon Petroleum, as of...
SVI Senior Partner, Daniela Carosio, gives an interview on July 2019 release of Il Copernicano, the review of Copernico SIM S.p.a. for financial advisors. The 2019 July issue of Il Copernicano is focused on Sustainable/Responsible Investments and ESG criteria and aims at questioning whether the great present...
As the Financial Times pointed out, a vast amount of deals occurred recently that involved ESG rating agencies. For example, Moody’s announced last month that it had bought a majority stake in Vigeo Eiris. But, even if these deals did not caught much attention by the press and the...