Investors increasingly want to take a more environmentally, socially and governance-conscious approach to investing. Despite the growing choice of ESG strategies, the wide range of products and a lack of uniformity can make it difficult to compare the options.
The EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) intends to increase transparency on how financial market participants integrate sustainability into their investment decisions and recommendations. It introduces a classification system with new disclosure requirements for investment products.
Paris-based asset management adviser Indefi says the SFDR’s first achievement has been to deliver a clear segmentation of such sustainable-investment products (see page 7).
Data is biggest challenge to climate risk, finds report
A lack of data availability is the single biggest obstacle facing UK financial services firms in their effort to manage climate change risk, according to research from Willis Towers Watson (WTW).
A poll of 122 global firms, including asset managers and institutional investors, was conducted during WTW’s Climate Risk and Financial Stewardship Summit.
The vast majority (80%) cited data as their top concern in the transition to a net zero economy while difficulty in making quantitative assessments (75%) and insufficient expertise (62%) also featured highly.
Furthermore, many firms do not see climate risk diminishing in the years to come and 40% predict that the level of risk will escalate over time.
Can you give a brief overview of your strategy in terms of what you are trying to achieve for investors, your investment process and the make-up of the investment.