ESG and Ethical Investing - Articles & White Papers
Articles and white papers on ESG and socially responsible investing. The most popular ESG research in this section provides practical advice for tangible implementation of ESG policy, for instance, exploring a framework to integrate ESG factors into portfolio construction, and how to integrate ESG into private equity. ESG surveys have been well received, and the list below includes...
a survey of European ESG funds as well as a report which examines how institutional investors incorporate ESG considerations when investing in alternatives. A commonly debated issue is the question of how ESG impacts investment returns. Can socially responsible investing deliver competitive performance, or does it hurt investment outcomes? This topic is well covered in this area of our library. Other research in this section includes papers on corporate governance policy, shareholder activism and the rise of activist funds. With environmental risks and climate change an increasing concern for investors, there are a growing number of papers on fossil fuel divestment. Furthermore, increasing attention is being given to how funds can actually use their investments to make a positive change for good, and papers on impact investing have proved popular, particularly in relation to endowments. This section also includes papers on faith-based investing such as Islamic finance.
How can investment managers optimise the integration of ESG characteristics within their portfolios? One approach is bottom-up, examining only stock-specific ESG constraints versus a relevant benchmark. Another approach is top-down, placing a greater emphasis on portfolio-level exposures. In ‘How to Boost Your ESG Scores and…
The 2010s saw a notable decline of social infrastructure investments in many of the largest OECD countries. The past year and a half have served to highlight this funding gap, especially given the strain exerted by Covid-19 on global healthcare systems. In addition to healthcare, social infrastructure encompasses many other…
As more investors embrace the importance of incorporating environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations into their portfolios, there has been growing interest in managing the potential performance trade-offs that can often be associated with capturing enhanced ESG characteristics.
The credit markets are finally embracing quantitative investing and this paper provides an in-depth primer to quant credit. Readers will learn about the dynamics of systematic trading, the factors employed in quant models, and the future paths this rapidly-evolving strategy is likely to take.
In this eleventh edition of Robeco's annual five-year outlook, they are incorporating climate change for the first time as a medium-term risk affecting return forecasts for asset classes. The effect that climate change policies, such as legislation following the European Green Deal, will have on asset prices is one of the…
Deep Water Waves represent the powerful long-term drivers that face investors; fundamentally altering the economic, political and public policy foundations for asset prices. Accelerated by Covid-19 and intensified by socioeconomic pressures, climate change and geopolitics, these forces will exert themselves on every facet of…
Covid-19 revealed a lot about the world. It drew the curtain back on our ability to deal with a significant global crisis, laying bare systemic weaknesses and exposing structural failures. One such failure pertains to social infrastructure. The pandemic highlighted that many communities around the world lack the necessary…
Following the unprecedented decline in activity in 2020, economies have recovered rapidly – much more briskly than many forecasters, businesses or households had expected. Supported by extraordinary fiscal and monetary policy support and driven by a rapid recovery in consumer demand, economies experienced a material shift in…
The 2021 Invesco Global Factor Investing Study continues Invesco's research into global factor investing, a form of investing in which securities are chosen based on attributes that have tended to offer favourable risk and return patterns over time.
The 2021 Invesco Global Factor Investing Study continues Invesco's research into global factor investing, a form of investing in which securities are chosen based on attributes that have tended to offer favourable risk and return patterns over time.
Traditional portfolio construction techniques can be adapted to create portfolios with impact objectives. To do this, investors must be clear on the impact they are aiming to achieve and be able to measure it. Perhaps their impact goals align with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), but other metrics for…
Investors are striving to determine how climate change may affect banks. Wells FArgo AM expects bank securities to be increasingly affected and use their Climate Transition Framework to illustrate the potential impact on fundamentals.
The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated several market trends, not least the use of cryptocurrencies and the incorporation of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors by investors. Mainstream financial institutions’ growing acceptance of cryptocurrencies as an investable and tradeable asset class has certainly played…
Since last year, there has been a tremendous acceleration of net zero commitments, showing that despite the Covid crisis, the climate change mitigation goals set in the Paris Agreement remain firmly on the agenda.
Water is essential, not only for life but also for social and economic progress. Yet despite this status as a critical asset, its true value is underestimated and its use is largely unsustainable. Increases in water demand coupled with limited supply and uneven distribution are leading to water stressed regions across the…
Things are heating up, in different senses of the phrase. Just like a century ago, we are emerging from an international crisis with the potential of an economic boom. But unlike the Roaring Twenties, the growing optimism is being tempered by the threat of an even greater crisis: climate change. Now in its 11th edition,…
State Street Global Advisors' latest research uncovers four major trends transforming fixed income portfolios, revealing what is driving institutional investors across the globe to adopt new ways of fixed income investing.
By way of background, in 2019, in support of meeting the objectives of the 2015 Paris Agreement, the UK government was the first in the world to enshrine a target of net zero carbon emissions by 2050 in law. This has increasingly been matched by an understanding of the role that asset owners can play in meeting the Paris…
Will a world beset with challenges spin into catastrophic breakdown or spur humanity to change and reach new heights? John Elkington, widely regarded as the ‘godfather of sustainability’, contemplates the future with AIQ.
