Weekly Impact Investment Market Update: May 11, 2018

Impact Investing & ESG
 

How Socially Responsible Investing Can Help You Avoid Catastrophic Drops within Your Portfolio

Martin Kremenstein, head of retirement and ETF solutions at Nuveen, explains how ESG metrics serve as an indicator of quality and can be used as a risk management tool.

ESG Reins in Volatility after Rough Start

Critics of ESG mandates believe that the exclusion of smaller allocations to some larger and more stable companies will lead to higher volatility and lower returns relative to less-constrained allocations. For a while they were right.

Common ESG Investing Misconceptions Debunked

For some time, investors have been using their investment dollars to try to make a change in the world. One option is to focus on green investing, where the emphasis is avoiding environmentally dangerous companies and instead investing in those with greater sustainability efforts.

Why Asian Investors Are Waking Up to ESG Data

The fact that ESG data is becoming an integral part of many fund managers’ processes is not new information – but a recent roundtable event in Singapore illustrated that institutional investors in Asia are also ramping up their interest in the investment discipline.

 

United States & Europe
 

In First Speech, Fed’s Barkin Backs U.S. Rate Rises Amid Strong Economy

U.S. interest rates have room to rise further given the remarkable strength of the U.S. economy, the Federal Reserve’s newest regional Fed president said on Monday in his first major speech on monetary policy since he was appointed.

Brexit: Peers Call for UK to Remain in European Economic Area

The House of Lords has backed calls for the UK to effectively remain in the EU’s single market after Brexit.

 

Developing Economies
 

Fair Progress? Economic Mobility across Generations around the World

If you are born into a low-income family, what are the chances that you will rise higher regardless of your background? The ability to move up the income ladder, both in one’s lifetime and with respect to one’s parents, matters for fighting poverty, reducing inequality, and even for boosting growth.

Powell Says Emerging Markets Equipped to Navigate Turbulence

The Federal Reserve’s gradual push towards higher interest rates shouldn’t be blamed for any roiling of emerging market economies, which are well placed to navigate the tightening of U.S. monetary policy.

Africa’s Economies are Turning a Corner

African economies often seem like victims of divine whimsy. Most of the continent’s workers are farmers, reliant on the rains. Much of its wealth comes from oil and minerals, at the mercy of markets.

A New Economy for the Middle East and North Africa

Despite its geopolitical challenges, the economies of the Middle East and North Africa have vast untapped potential in their young, educated, and tech-savvy populations.

Southeast Asian Digital Economy Emerges as a Beacon for Investors

American poet and civil-rights activist Maya Angelou’s immortal words, “In diversity, there is beauty and there is strength,” fit well with the cultural and industrial diversity of Southeast Asia. The diversity that is seen in the SEA markets is a magnet for investments.

India Ranks 4th in Asia-Pacific on Power Index

India has ranked fourth out of 25 nations in the Asia-Pacific region on an index that measures their overall power, with the country being pegged as a “giant of the future” but trails behind in indicators of defense networks and economic relationships.

Latin America and Caribbean: Seizing the Momentum

Growth in Latin America and the Caribbean is picking up, thanks to stronger demand at home, and a favorable global environment helped also by rebounding commodity prices.