Filters: Weekly Update

Impact Investing & ESG
 

Impact Investing: A Multitrillion-Dollar Market in the Making
Impact investing has been gaining traction over the last decade, as investors, consumers, and—to an extent—policymakers come to recognize that new ideas are needed in order to address some of the largest societal and environmental challenges facing humankind.

New Standards Give Investors Uniform Data on ESG Criteria
A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, but the big thinkers of sustainable investing have long argued for what they say is much-needed consistency in defining what exactly sustainable means. Now, the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board has unveiled its first set of industry-specific accounting standards, outlining which issues are financially material for 77 industries.

Gender and Ethnic Diversity Make Impact Investing Profitable
Companies with strong ethnic diversity are even better impact investments than gender diverse ones.

Mainstreaming Sustainability: What Banks and Business Schools Should do Next
As institutional investor demand for ESG products mounts due to robust ESG performance and stakeholder pressure to address global challenges, banks and business schools alike should offer mandatory sustainable investing training to meet the demand for financial services professionals who understand sustainability.

Impact Investing Versus ESG Investing – Aren’t They the Same Thing?
The difference between impact investing and ESG investing remains a mystery to many investors, but the broader trend towards investing sustainably is gaining ground

Asia’s Slowly Tightening ESG Embrace
Trailblazing asset owners are aiding cautious investors by adopting environmental, social and governance measures, as a special report researched by AsianInvestor reveals.

The Importance of Impact Measurement
Nearly three decades since the launch of the earliest Socially Responsible funds, the impact investment industry has grown tremendously. Estimates indicate that the market could reach hundreds of billions in assets under management over the next decade. Yet, as it grows, the industry continues to grapple with the challenge of impact reporting.

United States & Europe
 

Fed Leaves Rates Unchanged, Says U.S. Economy Strong
The U.S. Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on Thursday but remained on track to keep gradually tightening borrowing costs, as it pointed to a healthy economy that was marred only by a dip in the growth of business investment.

IMF Lowers Economic Growth Projection for Europe
The International Monetary Fund has lowered its forecast for economic growth in Europe for 2018 and 2019, but said the region was still growing above its potential.

Developing Economies
 

Investors’ Bright Future in Africa
For decades, risk, or at least the perception of it, has been a major impediment to Africa’s efforts to attract foreign investment. But rapid economic growth and a much-improved business environment are changing how investors view the continent.

IMF Says Pick-Up in the Non-Oil Sector Will Boost Nigeria’s Economic Growth to 1.9% in 2018
IMF explains that the growth momentum in Nigeria will see an average rise in sub-Saharan Africa economy from 2.7% in 2017 to 3.1% in 2018.

Buhari Approves $98 as Nigeria’s New Monthly Minimum Wage
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday signed an agreement with organized labour raising the minimum wage in Africa’s most populous nation.

Argentina to Extend Currency Band in 2019, Likely Adjust Less
Argentina’s central bank will extend the use of a currency trading band into next year and will likely manage peso fluctuations less than at present, a sign the country’s IMF-backed monetary policy is bearing fruit as the end of a harrowing year draws near.

Impact Investing & ESG
 

Demand for ESG Investing is Knocking at Your Door…or Should Be
Panelists at the InvestmentNews Women Adviser Summit discuss the opportunity of engaging clients and prospects on environmental, social and governance issues.

World’s Largest Pension Fund Cites Improved ESG Adoption by Corporates
Within Asia, equity portfolio from India showed the most improvement in ESG ranking, followed by Japan and Hong Kong

Special Report: ESG Takes Root
One in every four professionally managed dollars is now invested sustainably according to some definition, with a total of $22.9trn run in this way overall, according to the Global Sustainable Investment Alliance.

Investors Can and Should Address the Fundamental Causes of Income Inequality
Investors are increasingly aware of the system-level effects of their investments.

Commentary: Sustainable Investing at a Tipping Point
Sustainable investing, which takes full account of environmental, social and governance factors, has come of age. More than $1 in every $4 of assets under professional management has a sustainability mandate, making a total of about $22.9 trillion.

Responsible Investing: Consider ESG as Financial Data, Says WWF
ESG data is still regarded as non-financial information that only acts to complement the usual reporting requirements. But there is a growing school of thought that it should be recognized as financial data as ESG issues can materially impact profits in the future, says Keith Lee, sustainable finance engagement manager at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

Opinion: Impact Investors are Engaging in Blended Finance. Here’s What they Offer
Blended finance is the use of catalytic capital from public or philanthropic sources to increase private sector investment in sustainable development. It is an effective risk-sharing arrangement whereby public or philanthropic capital, largely provided by foundations, NGOs, individuals, and development agencies, is used to shrink the distance between real and perceived risks, making it possible to crowd in commercial investors.

Why Faith-Based Organizations are Shifting to Impact Investing
Faith-based organizations are increasingly investing in socially and environmentally responsible causes. A 2010 global study of faith institutions showed that 77% of 103 respondents practice impact investing.

United States & Europe
 

U.S. Added 250,000 Jobs in October; Unemployment at 3.7%
The last official snapshot of the economy before Americans vote on Tuesday offered another reminder of the labor market’s persistent strength. Hiring is up. Wages are up. The total number of workers and job searchers is up.

Developing Economies
 

Minimum Wage Surge across Southeast Asia
Minimum wages in Southeast Asia are rising sharply as governments strive to please their publics.

Southeast Asia’s Risk Map: Country-by-Country Breakdown
Geopolitical risk comes in many forms. While Investors are keeping a wary eye on political divisions in the U.S., trade war between Beijing and Washington, and rising populism in Europe, Southeast Asian markets are facing their own unique headwinds.

Impact Investing & ESG
 

Overheard at SOCAP18: The Alpha in Impact, Billions to Trillions, Women-Led Solutions, Elite Charade?
The full spectrum of impact investing was on display on Day Three of the annual SOCAP conference. ImpactAlpha’s team fanned out to catch the conversation.

3 Ways to Create a Climate Change Investment Strategy
The United Nations released a sobering report on climate change this month, stating that the Earth is warming faster than even scientists thought and that without far-reaching action, the planet is likely to warm to a dangerous level by 2040.

New Investment App Targets Millennials to Change Business with Their Dollars
Newday Impact Investing is a wealth advisory firm targeting millennials, not millionaires. Backed by senior managers from firms like BlackRock and Stone & Youngberg, the San Francisco-based startup is hoping to change the face of financial investment by shifting capital flows to “do good” companies on a massive scale.

BlackRock Bets Big on ESG Investing
The world’s largest asset manager has introduced a core ESG ETF portfolio, new ESG funds and more extensive disclosures on ESG metrics.

A Big Splash in the ESG Fixed Income Space
To date, a massive percentage of the exchange traded funds extolling the virtues of environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing have been equity-based funds.

Institutional Investors Seeks ESG Opportunities via Fixed-Income Vehicles
RBC Global Asset Management recently published its third annual Responsible Investing Survey, and My-Linh Ngo, ESG investment specialist for the firm’s London-based BlueBay Asset Management division, offered PLANADVISER her take on the results.

How to Use Donor-Advised Funds to Make Impact Investments
There’s a vast missed opportunity to use DAFs for making impact investments in support of market-based solutions to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Changing the Status Quo: How Women are Leading the Charge on Impact Investing
“It’s the first time in history that women in the U.S. control more assets, or are allocating more assets, than men,” said Barnet. “So I think the biggest shift will be in client demand and what clients are looking for, and individuals and leaders will adjust their strategies and products to adapt to that. Companies that don’t get that shift right won’t be around anymore.”

United States & Europe
 

U.S. Economy Grew at a 3.5 Percent Rate in 3^rd Quarter
The economy expanded at a 3.5 percent annual rate in the third quarter, the Commerce Department said Friday. That’s slower than the second quarter’s blockbuster 4.2 percent, but it puts the economy on pace for the fastest annual growth in 13 years.

Developing Economies
 

Emerging Market Debt: Into the Wild
It’s been a volatile year for emerging market debt, but conditions have settled down over the last month or two. That said, institutional investors looking to take advantage of the diversification and return possibilities that the asset class can offer need to fully understand the potential risks from fiscal, monetary and political perspectives — and they need to be patient.

Impact Investing & ESG
 

IFC Releases Draft Impact Investment Guidelines
Investors have welcomed new guiding principles for impact investing intended to turbocharge the sector — but some question whether the International Finance Corporation, which developed the rules, is the right institution to be leading the effort.

Why Companies Must Manage Environmental, Social, and Governance Risks
Wharton’s Witold Henisz, Katherine Klein and Sherryl Kuhlman discuss how ESG risks impact companies’ bottom lines.

The Politics of Impact
An excerpt from Jed Emerson’s The Purpose of Capital: Elements of Impact, Financial Flows, and Natural Being

Why ESG is Not a Flash in the Pan
As a concept, ESG investing has been around for some time. Every so often it has had its moment in the spotlight before disappearing into the shadows along with other so-called ‘investment fads’.

Demand Grows for SEC Rules on ESG Disclosure
As investors routinely push public companies to address ESG in terms of long-term shareholder value, a determined group of institutional investors and ESG advocates think the time is right for the Securities and Exchange Commission to mandate a uniform approach to how companies disclose and manage potential risks.

Third-Party ESG Ratings Evolving for Investor Needs
As institutional investors increasingly demand that money managers integrate environmental, social and governance factors into portfolios, third-party ratings used to inform decisions are under development, evaluation and in some cases reconstruction.

ESG Wake-Up Call for Pension Laggards
Policymakers are trying to steer more UK schemes towards sustainable investing.

How Investors Can Save the World, One Dollar at a Time
Sustainable investing allows you to invest with your conscience: You embrace companies that promote social and environmental good, while avoiding businesses that don’t share the same ethics.

United States & Europe
 

US Named the World’s Most Competitive Economy
The U.S. is ranked most competitive economy for the first time in a decade.

Europe’s Most Stable Economy Says It’s Time to Share the Wealth
The Czech Republic must distribute its growing wealth more widely, and even a cooler economy won’t stop higher social expenditure and investment, according to the country’s finance chief.

Developing Economies
 

Five Reasons to Buy Emerging Markets
While the U.S. stock market remains overvalued, emerging markets have become cheap.  With the divergence in performance between U.S. stocks and emerging market stocks in 2018, the risk/reward profile of owning emerging market stocks rather than U.S. stocks has rarely looked so attractive.

Kenya: Economic Growth Looking Up – World Bank
Kenya’s economy is projected to grow by 5.8 per cent next year supported by strong remittance inflows and rising household income from agriculture harvests and lower food prices.

Kenyan Workers Ranked Fourth in Africa, World Bank
The future of Kenya’s workforce seems bright with the country’s future personnel ranked the fourth on the continent.

Worldwide: Economy on the Rise in Latin America
The United Nations along with the Economic Development Division of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) has issued the 2018 Economic Survey of Latin America and the Caribbean.

Impact Investing & ESG
 

What Global Megatrends Can Teach Us about Impact Investing
Impact investing has been gaining traction in large part because global sustainability megatrends are getting more attention.

How Women are Bringing Impact Investing to the Mainstream
Profits, meet purpose. Companies are being asked to serve a social purpose, here’s how women are positioning impact investing as a mainstream strategy.

Gender Equality: A Potential Driver for ESG Funds
There is plenty of work to be done when it comes to gender equality and investors should favor that work being done because various data points and studies confirm that companies with women occupying c-level executive positions and/or several board spots outperform their less gender diverse counterparts.

Impact Investing: The Billionaires Building Change
Eleven years ago, at a small gathering at the Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Center in Italy, the term “impact investing” was coined. It was not a new idea, but it finally had an official name.

Responsible Investing: Southeast Asia Top Destination for Impact Investments
“Southeast Asia has been the fastest growing impact investing market in the world for the past five years. The region offers dynamic business environments, with increasing entrepreneurial and investment activity focused on ensuring inclusive and sustainable economic development,” says GIIN director of research Abhilash Mudaliar in a media statement.

United States & Europe
 

The US Economy is Doing so Great that the Markets are Worried
September was the 96th consecutive month of job gains, the longest on record. The two previous months were revised to show 87,000 more jobs were added that previously reported.

Developing Economies
 

These Comfort Charts Signal Year-End Recovery for EM
After a rally from mid-August gave way to another sell-off through early September, emerging-market investors would be forgiven for being wary of new signs that calm is returning.

Goldman Forecasts South Africa Economic Rebound in 2019
Goldman Sachs (GS.N) expects South Africa’s economy to grow almost 3 percent next year, helped by President Cyril Ramaphosa’s reforms and strong global growth, the bank’s sub-Saharan Africa head told Reuters.

Asia’s Economic Ties Strengthen Amid Gathering Global Storm
As reported by the Asian Development Bank, Asia’s (including South Asia) intra-regional trade in 2016 as a percentage of total reached 60%, surpassing that of NAFTA’s 56% (comprising of Mexico, the U.S. and Canada), and is second only to the EU’s 27 member countries at 69%.

World Bank Sharply Cuts Malaysia’s 2018 Growth View
The World Bank Thursday sharply cut its 2018 economic growth forecast for Malaysia to 4.9% from 5.4% and said the expansion pace could steadily decelerate through 2020.