GLOBAL:
How have ESG funds held up so far?
Our very own Champion Charles Boakye, Jefferies is quoted here! Reuters. 3 min read
EUROPE:
DNSH Safe Harbour: Is it Safe?
European Asset Managers can choose to be exempted from reporting against some sections of DNSH (Do no significant harm) framework during fund-level ESG Disclosures.
Responsible Investor 3 min read.
Who to the rescue? Prevention of climate bail-outs
Mark Carney helped design the post-2008 system for resolving bust lenders. In this episode of the Exchange, the ex-Bank of England governor tells George Hay what he makes of last month's rescue of Credit Suisse, and how to limit future financial sector hits from climate change.39 min podcast from The Exchange
New rules will apply to ETFs and mutual funds from April as being pushed through by index provider MSCI.
Under MSCI's changes, all "synthetic" ETFs that use swaps to track the value of assets will lose their ESG rating. The changes come as regulators push for new rules against "green-washing" as the sustainable finance industry rapidly expands. The sharp reduction in funds with top ratings could mean that ESG-focused investors have fewer places to put their cash, potentially driving up the price of assets with a sustainable label. Financial Times 3 min read Video 3 min
Why did BlackRock decided to cut ESG ETF in their models?
An environmental, social and governance-focused iShares ETF haemorraghed $3.9bn in one day in the middle of March 2023, data shows.
Financial Times, 3 min read
UK:
UK Launches ESG Rating consultation in revised green finance strategy, March 30, 2023, Responsible Investor. Responsible Investor, 3 min read
Going all out: Social perspective. PRI reported a 20.8 percent ethnicity pay gap and a 15% gender pay gap in its internal UK pay disparity report. Responsible Investor, 2 min read
AI Regulation: Is it upon us?
NORTH AMERICA:
Going big! DWS Xtrackers is staging the largest exchange traded fund launch of all time, as its MSCI USA Climate Action Equity ETF (USCA) begins trading with $2bn of assets. The passive fund, with an expense ratio of 0.07 per cent, will invest in the top 50 per cent of companies within each industry sector based on their emissions intensity, emissions reduction commitments, climate risk management and revenue from greener businesses. The underlying MSCI index was created at the behest of Ilmarinen and DWS.
Financial Times, 3 min read
ASIA
What the ESG future holds: Hong Kong and Singapore have long squared off to be the pre-eminent finance hub for Asia. That battleground is now shifting to the ESG space, with potentially trillions of dollars at stake.
Japan Times, 3 min read
The power of shareholders in action in Japan.
3 mega players in Japan were hit with climate proposals.
Mizuho, Mitsubishi UFJ and Sumitomo Mitsui were hit with shareholders' resolution to disclose a transition plan aligning their investment/lending the Paris Agreement. 3 additional shareholder proposals are at energy giants TEPCO, Mitsubishi and Chubu Electric. The Japanese utilities are asked to disclose how their capital expenditures align with 2050 net zero pathways. Responsible Investor, 3 min read
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Aya Pariy
Sustainability Community Manager
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