sustainability

Having “skin in the game” is usually a boon for performance and client alignment. But when managers put their money where their mouth is, they don’t invest it sustainably according to a Swiss report.

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.

The green boom has seen rife speculation on so-called sustainable companies without so much as a dollar to their name. Firetrail’s new global equities operation wants to find the ones with a few warts on them instead. “It’s all about finding tomorrow’s leaders,” says Justin Gray, one of three portfolio manager for Firetrail’s new S3…

One clear message from this month’s COP26 climate meeting is that big investors – especially Australian investors – will not be waiting for politicians to lead the way with a response to the crisis. Institutional investors are now “moving to the point of implementation” of their sustainability strategies, according to global manager Ninety One, with…

There has been a growing feeling among investors that sustainability is good – certainly not bad – for returns. Now, following the latest report by Sustainable Platform, there should be no further argument. The analysis, which includes rankings of the top 1,000 performing companies globally, as well as the bottom 1,000, shows that on a…

Ian Silk, AustralianSuper’s powerhouse former chief executive officer, will join KPMG part-time as the firm broadens its focus on ESG solutions. Ian Silk will join KPMG as a special advisor, working on ESG issues as part of the firm’s “reinvigorated plans to help clients embrace the greater focus on ESG responsibilities” as well as on…

Perth in lockdown, ASX flat for the week, retailers smashed  Perth has entered a ‘snap’ three-day lockdown following another hotel quarantine outbreak. Despite this, the market finished slightly ahead on Friday, 0.1%, and finished the week flat. The highlights over the week were Megaport (ASX:MP1) and Monadelphous (ASX:MND), which jumped 10.5% and 8.6% respectively. All attention has been on a number…

They may be late to the party compared with Europe but companies and investors in the Asia Pacific region have taken to ESG principles and practices in a big way. They are particularly concerned about ‘greenwashing’, according to BNP Paribas. In a webinar for the region’s media earlier this month (February 5) three ESG specialists…

In the wake of the pandemic, investors have continued to pile money into variously labelled ESG/sustainable funds. Are they doing what they say?