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Anatomy of a bona fide ESG fund (The Business Times, 7 min read) How do you differentiate between a real investment firm committed to ESG and one just greenwashing via marketing? One key differentiator is whether the funds have been a signatory to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investments (UNPRI) for at least three years with a grading of A+. Additionally, ask whether the fund practices stewardship. This can be analysed by how the fund used its proxy votes ‘for’ ESG initiatives.
UK asset managers shun traditional asset classes and line-up alternatives, multi-asset and ESG fund launches for 2020 (Institutional Asset Manager, 5 min read) ‘59% have seen a substantial increase in client demand for specialist ESG/Responsible Investing products, and 76% have seen a substantial increase in demand for ESG integration across their whole product range.’
No J in ESG? (National Review 6 min read) ‘ESG investing, intentionally or otherwise, rewards exactly the corporate behaviour that is creating alarm. Companies with few buildings, few formal employees and a light carbon footprint tend to show up well on ESG screens. But allocating capital to them leads to a deepening of inequality and intensif[ies] the problem of under-unemployment”.