Top Recent ESG Papers: Jan 2022

Colorado Fires Just the Latest in an Eventful Year for ESG Investing

Included among top recent ESG content are several articles on climate change and climate risk, something the residents of communities in Colorado have unfortunately experienced first-hand with recent devastating winter wildfires. ESG investing has become mainstream, with regulation on the books in Europe which will require advisors to include sustainability in investment advice. Other papers include possible routes to net zero and an interesting piece from UBS AM on an asset allocation framework that combines both traditional financial considerations with ESG factors.

Should you have missed it, the 2021 Savvy Investor Awards were announced on December 7th. The link for Best ESG Paper that appears in the 'Savvy Investor Awards' sub-heading will  take you to the category, where you can view the winning paper by Robeco, plus the Highly Commended ones too.

FEATURED PAPERS

A Building Block Approach to Sustainability Portfolios (Qontigo, 2021)

Qontigo suggests ways in which portfolios may be constructed that have appealing sustainability qualities, but which also aim to mitigate risk exposure.

Can Taking a Big Picture View of ESG Bypass ESG Data Pitfalls? (Intech, 2021)

For compliance reasons, this paper is only accessible in certain geographies

Intech’s eBook outlines ESG challenges and suggests ways in which investors might seek to mitigate their effects. Analysis of a data set from a leading provider offers insights into how investors might pursue portfolios that offer more appealing characteristics.

Sustainability Becomes Mandatory Part of Investment Advice (DWS Group, 2021)

DWS outlines the impact of the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) and the implications for advisors when the rules take effect later this year.

Outlook 2022: Towards a sustainable economy (Impax Asset Management, Dec 2021)

Impax offers some observations on the crucial topics they believe are likely to impact on global markets in 2022.

Implications of the EU Taxonomy Regulation: A study (FTSE Russell, Dec 2021)

FTSE Russell's paper takes a deep dive into the 'do no significant harm' (DNSH) and 'minimum safeguards' (MS) requirements contained in the Climate Delegated Act.

SAVVY INVESTOR AWARDS & CONTENT

Best ESG Paper 2021

The winner of the 2021 Savvy Investor Awards 'Best ESG Paper' category was Robeco. For more information about their paper, as well as the other Highly Commended papers recognised in the Awards, click on the link above.

COP26: Net zero on the horizon (Special Report, 2021)

This Special Report highlights some of the key issues for investors to consider post COP26 and debates the influence climate change might have on investor portfolios, while illustrating how investors can contribute to achieving net zero.

RECENT CONTENT

Carbon Neutrality in Real Estate: Strategies for success (MetLife IM, 2021)

MetLife IM investigates whether the real estate industry is doing enough to assist in getting the planet towards net zero.

Climate-Aware Multi-Asset Portfolios: A combined approach (Allspring GI, 2021)

For compliance reasons, this paper is only accessible in certain geographies

Allspring Global Investments illustrates how investors now need much more than financial objectives from a portfolio, with sustainability and ESG factors often of equal importance.

Post COP26: Outcomes and opportunities (SSGA | SPDR, 2021)

For compliance reasons, this paper is only accessible in the United States and Canada

SSGA|SPDR looks at the opportunities and outcomes for investors in the wake of the COP26 conference.

Four Investment Opportunities for a Net Zero Future (Capital Group, 2021)

For compliance reasons, this paper is only accessible in certain geographies

Capital Group suggests some potential investment opportunities for a net zero future.

Three Flawed Assumptions in Climate Risk Models (PGIM Fixed Income, Dec 2021)

PGIM Fixed Income argues against the use of top-down, passive models to measure climate risks in fixed income portfolios.

Sustainability May Be Problematic for Some (MFS IM, Dec 2021)

In this paper, MFS IM suggests that the challenges facing companies in getting to sustainable models may be too great for some.

Asset Allocation for an ESG World (UBS AM, 2021)

This paper from UBS AM outlines an asset allocation framework in which asset allocators might combine ESG factors and more traditional financial performance goals into their investment processes.

Country Sustainability Ranking – Update December 2021 (Robeco)

Robeco provides their semi-annual Country Sustainability Ranking, which outlines the ESG profiles of more than 150 countries.

Circular Economy for a Sustainable Future (Capgemini, 2021)

Capgemini outlines what constitutes a circular economy and how over time it aims to ensure that growth doesn’t come from the consumption of finite resources.