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.
The coronavirus pandemic of 2020/21 may have fundamentally altered the relationship between workers and their office environments. For the first time in recorded history, a devastating virus forced countries across the globe to mandate lockdowns. Entire working populations had to remain at home, and in many cases businesses…
Baillie Gifford published part one of Let’s Talk About Actual Investing in 2018. In this, they challenged investors to refocus on the fundamental challenges and opportunities of real-world capital deployment and wealth creation. Investing is not a matter of ‘aiming off an index’, nor trying to outsmart other market…
As ESG investing continues to grow, so do the challenges that are associated with it. For most investors, the lack of standardisation in ESG data is the most significant challenge they have to overcome, with the issue being that ESG investment strategies require reliable and accurate data to both construct ESG portfolios and…
The BlackRock global family office survey report combines data aggregated from an extensive online survey completed by 185 family offices globally as well as in-depth interviews with 20 family offices. Explore BlackRock's insights around market outlook, asset allocation and sustainable investing.
Welcome to EQuilibrium — this new, annual global research from Nuveen explores the drivers of investor behavior and their impact on people, portfolios and problem-solving, with a particular focus on alternatives, responsible investing and the human side of asset management. Nuveen also looks at the beliefs, mindsets and…
This paper reviews the significant progress in academic and policy research on climate change and its impact on expected returns and strategic portfolio allocation across major public assets. To date, there have been efforts to measure the environmental impact to firms within a broader ESG framework. Various sources may help…
As ESG takes its place in the investing mainstream, managers must confront the challenges involving ESG data, including reliability, frequency, breadth, and depth. Focusing on portfolio-level outcomes and stable ESG characteristics can help mitigate the effects from data shortcomings in achieving investor objectives. A…
At Capital Group, they know that most investors are focused on their long-term goals, like funding their retirement and their childrens’ education. And yet it’s rare to see investment perspective that considers anything beyond the next year or two. That’s why they want to look ahead to 2030 to highlight 10 of the most…
Climate risk presents significant investment risk – it carries financial impacts that will reverberate across all industries and global markets, affecting long-term shareholder returns, as well as economic stability.
A global, public health crisis; social inequality and unrest; record economic retraction and violent swings in financial markets. To say that 2020 was a very challenging year might be the mother of all understatements. The primary driver for the turbulence in fixed-income markets was, to state the obvious, the Covid-19…
Impact investing is gaining interest as a growing share of investors seeks tangible progress on environmental and social goals alongside financial returns. BlackRock believes public equity markets have historically been overlooked in the impact investing space, traditionally a domain for fixed income and private market…
Unsustainable urban growth, air, water and land pollution, and growing social and economic inequality: all of these factors threaten to massively disrupt our way of life. As real estate investors look to respond to these challenges, Franklin Templeton welcome the growth in impact investing, which is helping to redefine the…
Aviva Investors have not changed their overall view on the potent combination of economic drivers for 2021, which lead them to an above-consensus outlook. Those factors remain: 1) Economies reopening 2) Vaccine roll-out largely removing Covid uncertainty 3) Pent-up demand for those activities forgone in 2020 4) Increased…
In BlackRock's investment themes for 2020, revised after the Covid-19 pandemic took hold, they put forward a series of recommendations for plan sponsors in dealing with decreasing contributions, rethinking the balance of credit and treasuries, and instituting best practices in rebalancing and managing liquidity. Acting on…
This study examines how the sustainability trend is likely to develop and the changes required for the investment industry overall, investment organisations, and investment professionals to adapt.
Corporate reporting needs updating. What exists today satisfies an old notion that the sole responsibility of companies is to increase profits, as expressed in Milton Friedman’s famous 1970 op-ed in the New York Times. We see now that this traditional approach to corporate reporting and the drive towards sheer profit…
The ‘2021 Global Climate Survey’ shows how investors are approaching the opportunities and risks associated with climate change. The survey was completed by 300 of the world’s largest institutional and wholesale investors in Europe, North America and Asia Pacific, representing a total of around USD 23.4 trillion in assets…
Shifts in consumer preferences to healthier and sustainably produced food offers investors attractive investment opportunities in segments such as plant-based food and beverages, meal kits, and food ingredients. Pure-play food companies in these segments are becoming more relevant to consumers, operate in a very large market…
There is no shortage of challenges for long term investors. The strong performance of risk assets in 2020 has further compressed return expectations, and there exists ongoing concern about (i) how economies will emerge from the current crisis and (ii) who will foot the final bill for COVID-19. In 2008, expectation were that…
A global, public health crisis; social inequality and unrest; record economic retraction and violent swings in financial markets. To say that 2020 was a very challenging year might be the mother of all understatements. The primary driver for the turbulence in fixed-income markets was, to state the obvious, the Covid-19…
