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Articles by Matthew Orsagh
Could corporate lobbying pose a significant threat to responsible investment and a sustainable financial system?
Over the past few years, momentum has been building behind responsible investment and the drive for a more sustainable global financial system. Increasingly, investors are incorporating environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors and climate impacts into their decision making.
When investors call for climate responsibility, how do mutual funds respond?
By Marco Ceccarelli, University of Zurich - Department of Banking and Finance; Swiss Finance Institute; Stefano Ramelli, University of Zurich - Department of Banking and Finance; and Alexander F.
Strategic asset allocation and responsible investment
Two weeks ago, we hosted a one-day event for PRI signatories in The Hague. One segment of this well-attended event was a small workshop on strategic asset allocation (SAA). Attended by 15 specialists in the field, the discussion focused on how issues such as climate change, demographics and resource depletion should influence and might be reflected in this process.
How are experienced practitioners applying ESG integration?
Although different definitions for materiality apply, the consensus among investors is that a material ESG issue is a fundamental value driver of a company or security that affects the income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement positively or negatively. As different ESG issues can be material in the short term and long term, this can mean that different ESG issues are material to investors with different investment horizons.
Shareholder activism and firms’ disclosure of their exposure to climate change risks
ACADEMIC BLOG This article summarises the key findings of a research project, Shareholder Activism and Firms’ Voluntary Disclosure of Climate Change Risks, that I have co-authored with Michael Toffel and Kala Viswanathan. Investors increasingly incorporate the climate risk exposure of their portfolio companies in their decision making.
2019: La inversión responsable llegó para quedarse en latinoamerica
En junio de 2018, PRI tomó la decisión de fortalecer su presencia en América Latina hispanohablante. Un año después de esta decisión la región demuestra su interés y compromiso con la promoción de la inversión responsable. PRI presenta un crecimiento del 54% y hoy contamos con más de 30 signatarios en países como: México, Chile, Colombia, Perú, Argentina y Costa Rica.
Financial markets are mispricing climate risk
In a letter to Fatih Birol, the executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), I joined nine PRI signatories, including members of the new UN Net Zero Asset Owner Alliance, in calling on the IEA to “do better” following the release of their World Energy Outlook 2019 report.
Steering and rowing: the French approach to responsible investment
ACADEMIC BLOG In recent years, France has become one of the most dynamic European markets for socially responsible investment (SRI). Figure 1 shows that in 1997, just seven asset managers supplied a marginal amount of SRI products; in 2012, however, 53 asset managers (including the largest, Amundi) were actively involved in the management of more than 250 SRI products.
Asset owners experiencing shortage of ESG products meeting expectation
Clients have the power to drive ESG integration forward as practitioners listen to them. Two obstacles remain, however: (1) client demand and ESG supply, and (2) guidance on asset owner expectations. Although ESG integration is being demanded and ESG products are being offered, current demand still is outweighing supply.
SEC vote seeks to create roadblock for responsible investment
Major policy changes to address the implications of climate change will happen. The question is when and how bad the damage will be to society and the global economy when the necessary changes are implemented – a topic we explore in our Inevitable Policy Response research. The financial impacts of rising sea levels and extreme weather events, for example, and the demise of businesses that fail to adapt will all impact the value of investors’ assets.
Are investment horizons preventing integration of ESG factors?
Workshop participants believe that ESG factors can materialise through a series of short-term, incremental upticks or downticks that individually impact short-term and long-term investment returns. A possible consequence of ESG factors becoming more short-term in nature is that more investors with short-term strategies may embrace ESG integration for alpha generation.
ESG analysis: Is judgement more important than data?
Investors and analysts have been investing in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) data from data providers and also developing the skills of their in-house teams to better understand ESG issues. Good analysts and portfolio managers exercise judgement to fill in the gaps when data are not available.
The final chapter of Fiduciary Duty in the 21st Century
By Margarita Pirovska (@MargaritaIP), Head of Fiduciary Duty in the 21st Century, PRI/UNEP FI in Geneva At the end of this year, the Fiduciary Duty in the 21st Century project concludes with a final report. The conceptual debate around whether environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues are a requirement of investor duties and obligations is now over, and policy is being updated accordingly. The manner in which fiduciary duty is defined has profound implications.
Four areas of misunderstanding around ESG integration
Many people perceive that environmental, social, and governance (ESG) integration means sacrificing performance because they believe that ESG integration is the same as screening out companies and sectors from their investment universe. Understanding is low regarding the different ESG issues, the ESG criteria used to assess issuers, and what is considered to be good versus bad ESG performance.
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