ESG - Time to Get Your Ducks In A Row!

A Survey of Top Recent ESG Papers

After surveying the landscape of environmental, social and governance papers that have recently been released, here is a selection of the top recent ESG content we've uncovered.

Wellington Management describes five of the inefficiencies that make ESG investments an attractive market segment for the active investor and Style Analytics delves into disparities between ESG scores. A couple of papers discuss the treatment of employees: Nuveen discusses the participation of women in the labour force and Robeco covers the sustainability of fair wages.  The field of ESG investing is fluid and continues to expand - it's time for investors to get their ducks in a row.    

Why the market gets sustainable investing wrong (Wellington, 2019)

Certain market inefficiencies exist that make sustainable investing an attractive proposition for active managers. Five such inefficiencies are addressed in this paper, which also explains how investors can take advantage of them.

Why using ESG helps you build better portfolios (Lyxor ETF, 2019)

For compliance reasons, this paper is only accessible in the UK & Europe

Lyxor ETF describes the ins and outs of ESG, and how utilising ESG principles can lead to better portfolio outcomes.

Quantifying different ESG approaches in funds (Style Analytics, 2019)

Due to the hundreds of ESG-related issues that are taken into account during an ESG-scoring process, often times the ratings agencies arrive at different ESG scores for the same company. This paper looks at ESG scoring methodologies and the ESG aspects being evaluated in fund assessment.

ESG and real assets: A matter of balance (Aviva Investors blog, 2019)

For compliance reasons, this paper is only accessible in certain geographies

Through five case studies, the authors describe the ESG risk factors that affect investment decisions when considering ESG risks within real asset investments.

Discovering Value in Climate Change Investing (Franklin Templeton, 2019)

For compliance reasons, this paper is only accessible in certain geographies

This paper by Franklin Templeton explains how climate considerations can have a meaningful impact on long-term business performance.

Think global: Women in the city (Nuveen blog, 2019)

There is a virtuous cycle that exists when more women enter the labor force. In addition to being better at marketing to other women, their increases in disposable income benefit the economy as a whole and increase the overall productivity of both the companies that employ them and the cities where they reside.

Fair Wages - a key to effective social capital management (Robeco, 2019)

Sustainable human capital is supported by the practice of 'fair wages,' which go above and beyond a minimum wage by also supporting employees' basic needs.

Investment Consultants and ESG: An Asset Owner Guide (UN PRI, 2019)

This document serves as a guide for asset owners, showing them how to ensure that the investment consultants that they hire are well-aligned with their own responsible investment objectives.

The Seven Asset Owner Approaches to ESG (Enterprising Investor blog, 2019)

As ESG investing becomes increasingly more prevalent, asset owners will continue to play an influential role in the field of ESG investments.

ESG Regulation: A changing landscape (UBS AM, 2019)

This paper outlines the drivers behind the need to re-shape the economy into one that is more sustainable, the main initiatives shaping the regulatory landscape, the challenges and limitations inherent within those policies and frameworks, and possible next steps.