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EBN: BlackRock said that it will change the way it handles employee complaints about issues like sexual harassment and racial discrimination, after enlisting a law firm to investigate its practices.
Cision: Hines, the international real estate firm, has unveiled an ambitious new ESG strategy to elevate its commitments to environmental, social and governance issues, with a particular focus on the climate emergency, by accelerating its efforts to lead the industry in decarbonization of the built environment.
BNN Bloomberg: Worldwide, there are more than 600 exchange-traded funds that claim to follow the principles of environmental, social and governance investing—in one way or another. But how many of them really do?
Institutional Investor: About a year ago, the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor galvanized a response from institutions across the investment value chain, from corporations like Google to underwriters like Bank of America and from asset managers like State Street to asset owners like Trinity Church Wall Street.
Business Wire: Blackstone announced that Devin Glenn has joined as Global Head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). Glenn will be a Managing Director responsible for continuing to implement policies and initiatives that will help Blackstone achieve a more diverse and inclusive workplace at Blackstone and its portfolio companies.
Funds Europe: The UK financial regulator is seeking to toughen climate-related disclosures for asset managers, saying the current system did not meet investor needs.
Institutional Asset Manager: A new study from the Pensions Management Institute (PMI) and BMO Global Asset Management finds that, as ESG has risen to the top of pension trustees’ agendas, most trustees are relying on investment consultants for their schemes’ adherence to sustainability goals.
Investment Week: Mill Road Capital is set to roll out its Mill Road Progressive Governance fund in the second quarter of 2021, with an initial target of $500m.
BNN Bloomberg: Elif Aktug, a fund manager at the bank’s asset management arm and part of a broader leadership group, was named partner alongside Francois Pictet, bringing the number of current partners to 9, according to a company statement.
Institutional Investor: All it would take for bitcoin to reach a value of $500,000 would be for institutional investors to allocate just 5 percent of their portfolios to the cryptocurrency, according to Cathie Wood.
BNN Bloomberg: Erikan Obotetukudo is starting what could be the first venture-capital fund focused on crypto startups and helmed by a Black woman.
Funds Europe: At a recent Funds Europe roundtable, we asked panellists how investment can help emerging markets transition to net zero, considering the hurdles in the way.
BBC: "Mediocre" male managers are blocking women's development in the finance world because they are better at office politics, new research suggests. Women also said many managers "faked empathy" on diversity, and more direct bosses were easier to work with.
BNN Bloomberg: Robeco Institutional Asset Management BV will soon start pressuring Australia to phase out its reliance on coal and other natural resources, as money managers slowly begin targeting governments over climate change.
Global Compliance News: As reported previously, developing new ESG and climate disclosure requirements (including those relating to supply chains impacts) is one of the SEC’s key priorities, and there have been indications that proposed rule-making on the issue may be imminent.
Institutional Investor: A yearlong campaign to hold major companies accountable for online sexual abuse met with little success — until a New York Times article got a hedge fund manager involved.
BNN Bloomberg: More than half the money that flowed into European funds last year went into sustainable products, according to the Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry, which represents the region’s biggest fund market.
Business Wire: Apollo Global Management, Inc. (Apollo), Ares Management Corporation (Ares) and Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. (Oaktree) today announced a 10-year, $90 million, industry-first initiative, “AltFinance: Investing in Black Futures™.” The initiative is designed to diversify the alternative investment industry by attracting, training and providing career opportunities for college students attending three Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).
BNN Bloomberg: Nordea Asset Management says it’s trying to slow the flow of cash into its global climate fund amid seemingly insatiable demand for clean assets.
BNN Bloomberg: A coalition of investors overseeing a combined $41 trillion of assets have called on world leaders to set more ambitious greenhouse gas emissions targets and end support for fossil fuels.DWS Group, Legal and General Investment Management and Pacific Investment Management Co. were among 457 investors that wrote a joint letter to heads of state ahead of the Group of Seven leaders summit that will start on Friday in Cornwall, England.
Institutional Asset Manager: Speaking on a live webcast hosted by pensions and investment advisory firm Isio, Topping, appointed by the UK Government to help drive action on climate change, stressed the responsibility the UK pensions industry has, over the next 10 years, to ensure the pool of GBP3 trillion of UK pension assets is invested sustainably.
ICLG: As environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations gain traction globally, a group of Japanese investors have launched its first ESG-focused global venture capital fund.
Yahoo Finance: In recent years, borrowers have been able to get a reduction in their interest costs in return for meeting targets linked to environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals. That trend has been turbocharged this year by private equity firms seeking a piece of the action.
Think Advisor: Sustainable investing has solidified its position as a creditable investment option, and will likely hold that position for a long time to come, according to a study released by Allianz Life.
BNN Bloomberg: Activist investor Jeff Smith said Exxon Mobil Corp.’s revamped board will have to deliver the changes a tiny investor promised during its proxy fight in order for that campaign to be a watershed moment for environmental, social and governance investing.
Financial Post: Asia-Pacific borrowers more than doubled issuance of bonds tied to environmental, social and governance (ESG) themes to a record $69 billion this year, data showed, as they sought to burnish their sustainability credentials and tap red-hot investor demand.
BNN Bloomberg: An Australian money manager that’s been building ESG funds since 1986 is seeing an acceleration in assets under management as demand ramps up from investors following years of slow growth.
Yahoo Finance: State Bank of India needs to finance coal projects to meet the Indian leader’s push to electrify more homes, yet it wants to back renewable projects to appease global money managers including Fink’s BlackRock Inc., Storebrand ASA and Amundi SA. For now it’s doing a bit of both.
MSN Money: Investors are pouring money into assets that satisfy their environmental, social and governance demands, “extreme” inflows that have led to some froth without constituting an ESG bubble, according to Bank of America analysts.
BNN Bloomberg: Even in Denmark, recently ranked the world’s greenest country, asset managers are trying to figure out how to adapt to new and evolving requirements for climate-friendly portfolios.
Yahoo Finance: The tiny activist fund that recently won at least two seats on Exxon Mobil Corp.’s board is setting its sights on a new challenge -- the $6.3 trillion ETF industry.
BNN Bloomberg: Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said the world’s effort to shift away from using fossil fuels could spark inflation if it’s done in a disorderly way, highlighting the risks involved with greening the economy.
Private Equity Wire: The ninth annual ESG Report from LGT Capital Partners analyses the activities of 344 managers globally (including 267 private equity managers) and assesses the improvements made in ESG practices.
Money Management: Fund managers should be subject to more rigorous standards to ensure their disclosures about environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing are accurate, according to Stoic Venture Capital.
Citywire Selector: As listed companies let go of fossil fuel assets amidst growing pressure from shareholders and investors, private equity markets have been filling the financing gap, according to new research from Fitch Ratings.
