Impact Investing & ESG:
Impact Investing
Impact Measurement: How Much Is Too Much? How Much Is Not Enough?
This article is the third installation of a three-part series exploring why ESG reporting is important, how it’s reported, and how much reporting investors should expect.
Sustainable Businesses can Unlock US$5 Trillion in New Market Value in Asia by 2030
A report entitled “Better Business, Better World Asia” was released from the Business & Sustainable Development Commission. The report breaks down Asia’s economy into four segments, and explores which development opportunities are most prevalent in each.
Fellow Travelers: Bringing Emerging Markets and Impact Investing Back Together (Part 1)
This article is the first installment of a three-part series exploring the relationship between impact investing and emerging markets. This installment deconstructs three attributes of impact investments: definitions, scope, and returns, and focuses on defining terms.
Fellow Travelers: Impact Investing in Emerging Markets is Growing but Not Fast Enough (Part 2)
This second installment focuses on the scope and returns of investing in emerging markets. Almost half of emerging market investors invest in companies in the growth stage, while developed market investors invest primarily in mature, private companies.
Fellow Travelers: Where Impact Investing in Emerging Markets Goes from Here (Part 3)
This final installment focuses on ways to integrate impact investing and emerging markets going forward. Development finance institutions should center their products around investor feedback; documentation and reporting should become standardized; and capital should be increasingly provided through debt, as in developed markets, rather than through equity.
Foreign Investors to Pour Nearly $1 Trillion into Emerging Markets in 2017: IIF
Now that the risk of trade friction between the US, Mexico, and China has decreased, foreign investment is expected to reach $970 billion, a 35 percent increase from last year.
Impact Investing Get a B+ on its Annual Report Card (Podcast)
This podcast explores how impact investing must grow and improve to keep up with global financial markets. Currently there are $114 billion in impact assets under management, which is 47% larger than the 2015 total of $77 billion, and 90% larger than the 2014 total of $60 billion.
ESG
Evan Harvey, Nasdaq: ESG Reporting – Six Reasons Why
This article explores six reasons to report ESG factors: overcoming framework and questionnaire fatigue, gaining competitive advantage, broadening investor outreach, redefining internal value metrics, boosting recruitment and retention, and true enterprise risk management.
United States and Europe
United States
Oil Settles at $45.72, Down 5.1% at 5-Week Low, after Big US Stockpile Rise
Crude stocks in the US grew 3.3 million barrels to 513 million barrels, which contradicted the prediction of a drop of 3.5 million; this caused oil prices to drop by nearly 5 percent.
Europe
UK Election 2017: Conservatives Lose Majority
Theresa May called the election to try to increase her leverage in EU discussions on Brexit; instead, her party lost seats, leading Britain into uncertainty about future negotiations.
Emerging Markets
Africa
Price of Corn, a Kenyan Staple, Soars
Drought and corruption are seen as catalysts for the spike in corn prices, which brought the staple out of reach for many working-class Kenyans.
Asia
Indonesia May See up to $200 Billion in Investment after S&P Upgrade: Minister
Indonesia may see an increase of up to $200 billion in investment after S&P Global Ratings upgraded the nation’s sovereign ratings to investment grade.