Author: Jason Wilson

Impact Investing & ESG
 

Investors are Starting to See the Positive Effect of ESG Investing
As the tide pulls some chief investment officers and asset owners toward improving corporate ESG practices, there is strong evidence that ESG investing is now rewarded, especially in the Eurozone, according to a recent Amundi SA study.

Impact Investing Isn’t Just for the Rich – We All Have a Part to Play
When I talk to people outside this field [impact investing], there’s still a widespread perception that philanthropy and impact investing is a preserve of the rich; that most people don’t have the luxury of being able to invest for impact.

Calls Grow to Change How ESG Risks are Categorized
Two European regulators, the European Securities Markets Authority and the European Commission, asked money managers in December to share their views on how to incorporate ESG factors into their processes in three European regulations.

Predictions for 2019: Impact Investing
There’s an opportunity this year to reshape what finance looks like – as long as that world is willing to ask itself some difficult questions, writes Daniel Madhavan, CEO of Impact Investment Group.

Emerging MSCI ESG Trends to Watch in 2019
Protest movements have elevated the profile of ESG investing to the point that financial advisors who dismiss its significance could miss out on attracting new clients as well as juicy returns for their existing clients’ portfolios.

ESG: A Trend That Pays Off in Performance?
More and more, individuals and communities are placing heightened awareness on being environmentally conscious, whether that is through Earth Day events or beach cleanup days. These activities not only have a positive impact on the environment but also socially — who doesn’t enjoy a clean, green environment?

What’s the Score with ESG Investing? You Have to Dig Deeper
Using ESG scores to measure investment worthiness of a company is a good start, but advisors have to go deeper to see the real picture.

Millennials: Save the World and Get Rich Doing So
ESG investing is one of the hottest trends on Wall and Bay Street, and no, it’s not just some fad that will die out like Bitcoin did last year. This may surprise you, but how environmentally or socially responsible a company acts could actually add intangible value that’ll ultimately be reflected in the stock price.

Surveying the Investment World Through an ESG Lens: A Snapshot of Key Topics from the U.S.
Environmental, social and governance (ESG) topics have never been more prominent in investors’ minds than they are today. But there’s considerable variation among investment managers about how ESG is considered or integrated.

Developing Economies
 

The Case for Emerging Markets: Likely Long-Term Out Performance
While the performance in any given year is uncertain, emerging markets appear poised for out performance over the next 5-10 years.

AfDB Report: Africa’s 2019 Economic Outlook
This year’s flagship report is themed: “Regional Integration for Africa’s Economic Prosperity.”

South Africa’s President Says Mining Key to Reviving Economy
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa says the country’s mining sector will be crucial to reversing sluggish economic growth and high unemployment.

Southeast Asia Bucks Trend of Sinking Global Foreign Investment
Southeast Asia is bucking the global trend of falling direct foreign investment, as the low-cost fast-growing region solidifies its position as an attractive location for multinationals.

Indonesia’s Economy Shows Resilience as GDP Beats Forecasts
Indonesia’s economy grew faster than economists expected last quarter, showing resilience in the face of a series of interest-rate hikes and weaker global demand.

Argentina’s Currency Gets Boost from Tight Monetary Policy
The ultra-tight monetary policy that Argentine authorities adopted amid last year’s currency crisis has yielded results and given a big boost to the peso, although economists see potential trouble on the horizon ahead of the October 2019 general election.

Brazil to Maintain Record Low Rates, Debate Turns to More Easing
Brazil’s central bank will keep its benchmark interest rate anchored at a record low later this week, and probably keep it there for the rest of this year, according to a Reuters poll of economists.

Impact Investing & ESG
 

The Rise Fund Spin-Off Marks Growth of Impact Investing
U.S. private equity firm TPG and U2 star Bono’s announcement earlier this week that they have created a new organization for measuring the social and environmental returns of investments appears to be a signal of growing investor demand for tools to assess impact.

A 2019 Resolution to Start Impact Investing
Has this happened to you? A valued client comes to you asking about impact investing or a new sustainable investing fund, and you are caught flat-footed, not knowing what to say or how to advise the client on this growing segment of investments.

5 Major ESG Trends for Advisors to Watch in 2019: MSCI
These and other findings in the MSCI report spotlight environmental, social and governance  trends that could affect companies and investors in 2019, and should be on an advisor’s radar going forward.

Why There’s So Much Push For ESG Investing
Businesses shape our world, that’s a fact. Their actions are profound, global and lasting. They impact our Earth, our oceans, our climate, our cities and our lives. We can all participate in changing the world for the better by inciting businesses to become a driving force for good.

Misaligned Hiring Priorities Risk Taking the Impact Out of Impact Investing
The underlying assumption behind this underestimation is simple: they believe it’s easier to teach an experienced venture investment professional about social impact than it is for a social impact expert with no investment experience to learn the rules of the venture capital game and develop the pattern-matching skills to be a successful investor.

OECD Says Impact Investment Needs Universal Standards
Impact investing could be more effective if universal measurement standards were implemented and impact goals were better defined, an OECD report says.

How Impact Investing Can Amplify Philanthropic Efforts
For years, philanthropy and investing have been treated as separate disciplines—one championing social change, the other financial gain. The idea that the two approaches could be integrated in the same deals once struck most philanthropists and investors as far-fetched. Not anymore.

Skeptical About ESG? Don’t Be. Here’s Why
The evidence is piling up against advisors who remain skeptical on environment, social and governance investing. A recent study by Amundi SA found that government actions and corporate scandals have forced a “wake-up call” to scrutinize companies for ESG friendliness, something even sovereign wealth funds and central banks are acting on.

The Top Ten Trends That Will Affect Family Offices In 2019 And Beyond
There is an undeniable socio-cultural mindset shift towards ethical social and environmental practices. Consumers and employees, as well as the world at large, are putting pressure on organizations to do what is best for people and the planet before driving the profit agenda.

Developing Economies
 

Unlimited Opportunities: Creating More Jobs for Young People in Emerging Market and Developing Economies
“To define is to limit,” Oscar Wilde once said. But sometimes economists need to use definitions to see the scope of a problem and find ways to lift the limits to success. This is especially true for young people in emerging markets and developing economies.

IMF Warns Trade Tensions Could Hit Growth
The International Monetary Fund has warned that escalating trade tensions could undermine global economic growth.

UN Speaks Positively about Kenya’s Economic Growth
Economic growth is expected to remain strong in Kenya and the rest of East Africa this year and the next, the United Nations said.

Two Decades Post Asian Financial Crisis, How Southeast Asia Can Keep Up Stunning Growth
For ASEAN to continue to prosper in 2019 and beyond, they’ll need to drive harder for regional integration, says HSBC Singapore’s Tony Cripps.

Impact Investing & ESG
 

An ESG Approach to Emerging Market Debt
The growing interest in ESG factors reflects a developing trend that asset owners and investors are increasingly focused on sustainability alongside investment performance. BNP Paribas AM believes ESG factors are integral in emerging market investing.

Institutions Increase ESG Focus in 2018
At the start of 2018, public pension plans and insurance companies accounted for about 91% of institutional assets focused on environmental, social and governance factor investing, with educational institutions a distant third at 6% of total ESG assets.

Virtuous Investing Finally Starts to Pay Off
A study published this week by Amundi SA, Europe’s biggest money manager with 1.5 trillion euros ($1.7 trillion) of assets, suggests that ESG’s first movers have been subject to a disadvantage, but the tide is turning in favor of the virtuous.

How to Evaluate Socially Responsible Investing
Finding socially responsible investments is easier than ever before, but questions still remain around just what impact these investments are actually having.

The State of Socially Responsible Investing
Many of the innovations have been driven by a collaboration between public, private, and philanthropic institutions.

When Cash is Not King: The New Favorite Investment Option for Family Offices
As an investment driver, impact investing is becoming increasingly popular amongst family offices, with 32% surveyed now reporting involvement in this space, a 4.2% increase versus 2017.

Opinion: The ‘Impact Imperative’ for Sustainable Development Finance
There is no luxury to invest in development without certain, sustainable impact.

The New Era of Refugee Investing
More than three years into the pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), not one country is on track to achieve them by the 2030 deadline. This conclusion, reached in a recent Brookings Institution report, highlights the enormous human costs associated with not meeting these goals, and implores countries to do more

Developing Economies
 

Emerging-Market Rally Suddenly Seems Possible
The Federal Reserve’s more dovish tone, combined with falling volatility, relatively low valuations and rising commodity prices, are keeping most investors positive

African Growth Too Slow for Expanding Workforce –AfDB
Africa’s anticipated healthy annual economic growth of about 4 percent in coming years will still be too slow to create enough jobs for its fast-expanding labor force, a regional loan body said on Thursday.

Southeast Asia’s Retail Boom Fuels the Rise of Logistics
Alibaba’s logistics arm Cainiao Smart Logistics Network had reportedly delivered the first 100 million parcels from the Singles Day Global Shopping Festival in just 2.6 days, illustrating that the e-commerce giant is quite simply on a whole another level to the logistics companies in Southeast Asia which are beset by infrastructure challenges.

Argentina and Chile Agree to Free Trade Agreement
With the decline of Mercosur, Argentina is looking westward towards its Pacific allies, as it signs a landmark free trade agreement with Chile.

Brazil’s Economy Set to Rebound on New Government Reforms: Reuters Poll
Brazil’s sluggish economic growth will pick up smartly this year, provided President Jair Bolsonaro’s new government implements promised budget-tightening reforms and helps expand the private sector, a Reuters poll showed on Friday.

Impact Investing & ESG
 

ESG Influence on Credit Ratings Revealed by Fitch Ratings
London-based Fitch Ratings, a credit rating agency, has issued a new scoring system that shows how environmental, social and governance factors impact individual credit rating decisions, Fitch Ratings announced Monday.

To Build a Sustainable Future, Impact Investing Needs to be Brought into the Forefront
It goes without saying that bringing impact investing to the forefront would provide a new power and push to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

If 2018 Was the Year of ESG Investing, What Will 2019 Bring?
Today, sustainable investment has evolved from negative exclusion to positive inclusion. Now, 90 percent of institutional investors globally believe ESG (environmental, social and governance) integrated portfolios are likely to perform as well or better than non-ESG integrated portfolios, and 72 percent are evaluating ESG factors to make investment decisions.

How Data-Driven Strategies Can Improve Impact Investing Outcomes
Data science is making inroads into the world of impact investing, helping program designers and beneficiaries achieve closer alignment between their goals and strategies.

Finance as a Force for Good
Sustainable investing, previously a niche specialization, has become increasingly commonplace in recent years. Globally, more than a quarter of professionally managed assets are now invested according to ESG principles. In addition, many mainstream financial institutions are publicly committing to sustainable investing as the way forward.

Money Managers Eager to Make Leap to Opportunity Zone Investing
Manager interest in launching funds to invest in U.S. low-income communities designated as qualified opportunity zones is running high but the number of funds launched still is low as firms await greater regulatory clarity.

Millennials Show Increasing Interest in Impact Muni Bond
Millennials have an appetite for a slice of the muni bond market when it comes to investments in affordable housing, education or sustainable energy, something experts say is part of a trend of younger investors increasingly seeking those kinds of investments.

Sustainability Execs Share Strategies for New Era of ESG Disclosure
As we look forward to a greener economy in 2019, we asked members of the GreenBiz Executive Network, our member-based, peer-to-peer learning forum for sustainability professionals, to offer their perspective on the greater alignment of investors and companies to accelerate sustainable capital growth.).

A Year in Review: Nasdaq’s ESG Milestones in 2018
Exchanges play a critical role in creating jobs and economic growth around the world. Given our central place in the financial ecosystem, Nasdaq has both the ability and responsibility to direct capital flows toward more sustainable use.

United States & Europe
 

The Economy is Finally Coming Through for U.S. Workers
Decent wage gains are showing up in paychecks. That should continue for a while.

Developing Economies
 

Trade Tops Emerging-Market Bill with Growth Outlook in Balance
There are few if any stories in emerging markets big enough this week to eclipse the U.S.-China trade meetings in Beijing.

Africa: Regional Integration Key to Africa’s Economic Growth
Integration is an important engine for economic growth, sustainable development and improving the living standards of the African people.

India Has a Growing Impact Investing Industry, but can it Scale?
The growth in India’s mobile phone market has helped an unexpected sector — impact investing.

Indonesia Targets 7 Percent Growth in Agroindustry
The Industry Ministry has targeted an increase of 7.1 percent in the agroindustry in 2019, higher than last year’s 6.93 percent, following a surge in domestic demand.

Vietnam Reaps Sixth Straight Record Year in Foreign Investment
Foreign direct investment in Vietnam climbed 9.1% in 2018 to reach $19.1 billion, the government reports, marking a sixth straight annual record as capital keeps flowing into one of Southeast Asia’s fastest-growing economies.

Bolivia to Lead Economic Growth in South America in 2019
Bolivia will lead again 2019 economic growth in South America, with an expansion of 4.3 percent of its GDP.

Impact Investing & ESG
 

The Year in Impact Enterprise and Investing
As the year draws to a close, let’s pause to consider what took place in the world of social enterprise and impact investing. Here are five noteworthy happenings.

Broadening the Meaning of Gender-Lens Investing
Demand for “gender-lens investing” strategies has boomed as investors seek to put capital to work in companies that address gender equality in the workplace.

New York City Will Invest a Portion of Its Pension Fund in Climate Solutions
New York City teachers, firefighters, and sanitation workers are investing in a healthier climate – through their pensions. In September, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that two percent of the city’s pension fund – that’s about four billion dollars – will be invested in companies working on renewable energy, energy efficiency, and other climate solutions.

CalPERS Engages Private Prison Companies
The chairman of the investment committee of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) says investment officials are engaging management of two private prison companies, CoreCivic and The GEO Group, as well as defense contractor General Dynamics.

Five Themes Expected to Impact Investing in Early 2019
This year has been dominated by geopolitical waves of market uncertainty, protectionism and trade wars.

United States & Europe
 

The Year in Emerging Europe
Here is the year in review for all countries in the Emerging Europe region.

Developing Economies
 

Vietnam Unseats Singapore as Largest IPO Fundraiser in Southeast Asia
Vietnam leaped to the top of Southeast Asia’s IPO ranking with five IPOs raising $2.6 billion, consultancy EY said.

Argentina to Lead Emerging-Market Rebound in 2019, Says Templeton Bond Head
An emerging-market money manager known for making contrarian bets says Argentina, home to the world’s worst-performing currency this year, looks primed to lead a developing-nation rebound in early 2019.

Brazilians Have Never Been so Sanguine About Economy, Poll Shows
Brazilians’ optimism about the economy has soared to a record high as President-elect Jair Bolsonaro prepares to take office on Jan. 1, according to a Datafolha poll published on Sunday.