ESG

Political polarization in the United States and new regulations affecting the labelling of products and funds means boutique ESG managers are back in the spotlight.

Investors say they want to build resilient portfolios but all they’re doing is making them robust. And that’s not enough to come back better from a downturn.

New research confirms the “anecdotal concerns” of the superannuation industry that the current design of the Your Future Your Super test makes responsible investing a no-go zone.

Shame-based investment strategies yoked to simplistic environmental, social and governance (ESG) scoring systems have come under fire in a new report from UK data analytics firm, Util.

If negative screening worked, stocks in the sin bin should have lower firm valuations, higher future stock returns, and delist more often. They don’t.

Performance concerns for sustainable investing have risen to the fore as the Your Future Your Super (YFYS) test shortens investment horizons. The wider return outlook is more challenged too.

Recent market moves won’t be the end of ESG, but it’s as good a time as any to remind investors that there’s more to it than exclusion.

The investment arm of State Street has forecast a bonanza ahead for environmental, social and governance (ESG) investment service providers as the sector explodes into the mainstream.

While Australia’s biggest asset owners are “extremely sophisticated” on ESG, the shackles of the idiosyncratic Your Future Your Super (YFYS) benchmarks are still holding them back on portfolio decarbonisation.

Your Future, Your Super (YFYS) is the ultimate blunt instrument, and super will be glad to see it tweaked. But perhaps the bigger debate is around the future use of another blunt instrument: exclusion.