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BNN Bloomberg: Africa’s biggest fund manager, South Africa’s Public Investment Corp., said it’s aiming to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and its “climate change position statement is currently moving through internal governance committees for approval.”
BNN Bloomberg: Brookfield Asset Management Inc. acquired two US renewable-power companies -- Scout Clean Energy and Standard Solar -- for a total of $1.54 billion and plans to invest as much as $510 million to further develop those businesses.
CNBC: ESG and sustainable investing generally have come under fire recently, with critics pointing to a lack of transparency and differing definitions sparking confusion around what investors are actually buying.
Investment News: The Chicago-based enterprise is being described as a “private investing firm that partners with founders to provide a distinct combination of growth capital and the support and resources needed to develop scalable, sustainable business models that generate equity and impact.”
NBC News: Almost 60% of Asian women working in the U.S. financial sector say their race has hindered their careers, particularly at senior levels, according to a study by The Association of Asian American Investment Managers (AAAIM) published.
Hedge Week: In its tenth annual ESG Report, LGT Capital Partners finds that almost half (47%) of private equity managers are now addressing climate change through their ESG policies, an increase of 13 percentage points over the last year.
Interactive Investor: XPS Pensions Group, a consultancy, found that 81% of asset managers surveyed have committed to net zero by 2050, up from 41% last year. However, its research showed that just 22% of fund groups could demonstrate a “credible plan” to meet these commitments.
Institutional Investor: In the divestment versus engagement debate, climate-conscious institutional investors have generally tried for the last decade to “tilt” their portfolios away from heavy carbon emitters and toward companies with lower carbon footprints. But tilting may not be enough.
Private Equity Wire: Private equity firms are expected to rapidly accelerate their divestment from fossil fuel assets over the next 12 months in response to a tightening regulatory climate and increased demand from institutional investors to pivot to renewable energy assets.
Comptroller: New York City Comptroller Brad Lander shared a letter to BlackRock, Inc. Chief Executive Officer Larry Fink to express growing concern that BlackRock’s investment actions do not align with its climate commitments, and to request immediate action by BlackRock to address these contradictions.
U.S. News: The heads of the nation's largest banks faced pointed criticism from Republicans complaining the firms are inappropriately taking liberal stances on social and cultural issues.
Cision: The National Association of Investment Companies ("NAIC"), the largest network of diverse-owned alternative investment firms, and UBS, the leading global wealth manager, announced an agreement whereby UBS will become a Platinum Sponsor of NAIC in support of the firm's Inclusive Investing offering.
Chief Investment Officer: Norges Bank, Norway’s central bank and manager of its $1.2 trillion Government Pension Fund Global, has added nine companies to its exclusion list for reasons including producing tobacco products and cannabis for recreational use and contributing to severe environmental damage, according to a press release.
U.S. News: HSBC Holdings Plc told Reuters it will stop financing the expansion of thermal coal from funds it manages actively with immediate effect, marking an acceleration of a broader commitment it made last year.
Whyy: Eight climate activists were arrested at the Malvern headquarters of Vanguard, one of the largest mutual fund investment firms. Members of the Earth Quaker Action Team (EQAT) and Extinction Rebellion Philly say Vanguard should be using more of its economic muscle to actively disinvest in companies contributing to global warming, including Big Oil producers like Exxon and Chevron.
BNN Bloomberg: Brookfield Asset Management Inc. will infuse more than $2 billion into Indian renewable projects to tap the booming clean energy investment opportunity in the fossil fuel-driven economy.
Institutional Investor: Paul Atkins, former SEC Commissioner, is not a fan of the recent moves by Republican-led states to blacklist asset managers because they consider environmental, social, and governance factors when investing.
Wealth Management: Blackstone Inc. vowed to hire 2,000 refugees across its portfolio companies and real estate properties worldwide, including 1,500 in the US.
BNN Bloomberg: After watching key GOP figures launch an all-out political attack on ESG, senior officials from the $57 trillion global pension industry are speaking out against the risks such an agenda poses to long-term savings.
Yahoo Finance: Yahoo Finance reporter Jen Schonberger details SEC Chair Gary Gensler's defense of climate disclosure and cryptocurrency regulation proposals.
BNN Bloomberg: On paper, it looks like a perfect deal for green-minded investors. They buy the bonds of companies that agree to slash their environmental footprints -- and pocket higher yields if the businesses are penalized for falling short of the goals.
The Guardian: Private equity firms pumping billions of dollars into dirty energy projects are exposing investors, including pensioners, to unknown financial risks as the planet burns and governments face escalating pressure to act, new research finds.
BNN Bloomberg: Australian pensions giant UniSuper Management Pty’s fossil fuel investments have edged higher even as the fund faces heightened pressure to divest from the industry.
Institutional Investor: In an asset management industry dominated by white men for decades, it’s no surprise that there aren’t as many women and underrepresented minorities with years of experience.
Wealth Management: Devon Drew, founder of DFD Partners, has spent the last 16 years of his career as a wholesaler at various asset management firms, including Vanguard, American Century Investments, Alger and J.P. Morgan Chase. And in those 16 years, he referred some 30 to 40 job candidates and managers from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds—Black and Hispanic among them—to those organizations.
FT Adviser: In a “Dear CEO” letter released last week (September 8), the FCA’s director of infrastructure and exchanges, Edwin Schooling Latter, said the regulator has concerns over the benchmarks.
Funds Europe: Of the 6,000 funds analysed by FE fundinfo, 663 set the minimum level of investment in sustainable opportunities at 0%, while an overwhelming majority left the value blank.
The Hill: Wall Street giants are defending a widespread initiative to invest in companies with environmentally friendly policies, moving away from investment in the fossil fuel industry following attacks on the practice from GOP leaders.
Private Equity Wire: HIG Capital has appointed Kim Leinwand Erle as managing director and global head of ESG, a newly created role that reflects the global alternative asset manager's ongoing commitment to the integration of environmental, social and governance best practices across the firm.
Institutional Investor: Insurance companies have a front row seat to the destruction caused by an increase in the number and intensity of hurricanes, wildfires, and tornadoes. So it stands to reason that they would be ahead on environmental, social, and governance investing — at least when it comes to climate issues.
CNBC: The Federal Reserve’s new banking regulator outlined a broad agenda in a speech Wednesday that pushed for action on stablecoins, climate change preparations and both the safety and fairness of the finance industry.
Institutional Investor: In a paper titled “The Hidden ESG Risks of Feel-Good Companies,” Adam Fleck, Morningstar’s director of equity research in ESG, argued that investing in stocks with high impact in areas like clean energy or gender equality doesn’t preclude exposure to ESG risks.
BNN Bloomberg: A new ESG product that JPMorgan Chase & Co. is about to start offering clients shows how rapidly perceptions are changing about the investment strategy.
Institutional Investor: Even as the largest pension funds in the world grapple with macroeconomic challenges, they are still stepping up their commitments to environmental, social, and governance mandates.
Business Wire: Strive calls on Chevron to liberate itself from constraints imposed by its ESG-promoting "shareholders" and to focus exclusively on maximizing long run value for the company's ultimate owners.
BNN Bloomberg: A dedicated ESG committee can help a company speed up the push toward net-zero goals, lower emissions faster and boost investments in carbon offsets. Better ESG credentials, in turn, can improve a company’s eligibility for ESG-focused funds, raise the liquidity of its shares, and support the stock price.
BNN Bloomberg: India’s new environmental rules will help eliminate green washing by requiring companies to submit detailed emissions data starting next fiscal year, according to KPMG India’s ESG head.
BNN Bloomberg: A paper from researchers at Audencia, the Auckland University of Technology and the University of Adelaide found that when investors were feeling pessimistic or depressed, they made greater investments into sustainable assets.
Institutional Investor: The California State Teachers’ Retirement System wants to keep investments and politics separate, but its plans to cut its portfolio’s greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030 could make that difficult.
The Sydney Morning Herald: Some of Australia’s largest superannuation funds are being urged to review their partnerships with an investment manager facing a backlash for sponsoring a Republican-aligned, climate-change sceptic foundation in the US.
Funds Europe: A portfolio manager at Triodos Energy Transition Europe Fund grew by 50%, outperforming its Article 9 competitors in the first seven months of 2022 based on Europe's most stringent sustainable fund category.
Energy Voice: The CI Energy Transition Fund I (CI ETF I) was oversubscribed and closed at the hard cap of €3 billion (£2.58bn), making it “the largest dedicated clean hydrogen fund globally” according to the Danish fund manager.
Institutional Investor: U.S. public pension plans are some of the environmental, social, and governance movement’s biggest supporters. Divisions along political party lines might change that.
Morning Star: Michelle Lee worked as senior counsel, investment for Portfolio Advisors and graduated from Yale Law School, but says she was passed over for promotions because she's Asian-American.
Advisor's Edge: RBC’s climate policies have been deemed mild enough to pass a Texas test on whether banks are boycotting oil and gas companies.
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