The COVID pandemic has provided many with the opportunity to hit the reset button and refocus on ESG. Organisations around the world have cohered around a more sustainable and concious approach to doing business, creating benefits for all.
Let's take a look at some of the top ESG-related stories published on InvestorDaily in 2021.
1. ESG and investing in small caps
In this blog piece, Richard Macdougall, portfolio manager at Flinders Investment Partners, talked about what ESG actually means (and what it doesn’t), how it can be applied to small-cap stocks and what benefits that application can mean to an investment portfolio.
Starting with the term ESG and how it has become a catch-all for a number of non-financial investment approaches, Mr Macdougall gave a detailed overview of each aspect of ESG.
Read more here.
2. ESG and active management driving change in portfolio construction trends
In this piece we explored how the rise of ESG and the breakdown of the traditional portfolio allocations have contributed to a clear change in portfolio construction.
The piece touches on the theory that the traditional 60:40 portfolio allocation is no longer viewed as the most logical investment ratio and why.
Check it out here.
3. ESG integration now the norm – and rightfully so
In this blog piece, Masja Zandbergen, head of sustainability integration at Robeco, talks about the need and the readiness for ESG.
"Any self-respecting asset manager, investor or broker will have people that specialise in the topic and, at least, claim to integrate ESG into their investment decisions. While not everyone is at the same level of development, and some of the implementation might still require fine-tuning, the basics are now here – at long last," she writes.
Click here for more.
4. CBA’s first ESG term deposit receives $200m investment
A recent piece about CBA announcing a $200 million investment by IFM Investors in a new environmental, social and governance term deposit (ESG TD) caught a lot of attention.
Described as being a first for the Australian market, CBA said in December that its ESG TDs allow investors to receive a fixed rate of return for the investment term like a traditional term deposit while the proceeds are allocated by the bank solely towards sustainability-linked loans (SLLs).
“We are proud to partner with IFM Investors on this ESG TD which provides $200 million in additional capital for us to lend to initiatives driving positive ESG outcomes," Commonwealth Bank group executive of institutional banking and markets Andrew Hinchliff said at the time.
More here.
5. Investors firing asset managers over ESG
Back in February, a survey suggested that more than two-fifths of investors have cited ESG issues as a contributing factor to terminating their mandates with an asset manager.
The global study from bfinance, which included 26 investment firms across Australia, ruled that ESG is becoming a total-portfolio subject, with investors seeking to implement its consideration across all asset classes.
Find out more here.
