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Links may only be valid for a limited time   July 22, 2017

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Are Sustainability Rankings Consistent Across Ratings Agencies? "As more and more companies begin to devote serious attention to sustainability reporting, many different systems of rating the depth and effectiveness of sustainability efforts have arisen. The authors compare three leading sustainability rankings, examining their methodologies and results. Unfortunately, a lack of consistency and transparency from these rating agencies currently exists, impeding greater efficiency in the capital markets."

[COMMENTARY] The studies findings will not surprise most ethical investors. Nonetheless, it's good to see such academic support for what we know.
Are Sustainability Rankings Consistent Across Ratings Agencies? By Beixin (Betsy) Lin, PhD, Silvia Romero, PhD, Agatha E. Jeffers, PhD, CPA, Laurence DeGaetano, CPA and Frank Aquilino, CPA, July 2017, The CPA Journal, USA.

Morningstar, MMI Launch Sustainable Investing Initiative. "The Money Management Institute (MMI) announced today a joint initiative with Morningstar called The MMI/Morningstar Sustainable Investing Initiative, aimed at educating advisors about sustainable investing and how to better incorporate it into their practices."

[COMMENTARY] Most financial advisors need some training in ESG related investing. This is one of many initiatives now happening globally. Well done Morningstar and MMI.
Morningstar, MMI Launch Sustainable Investing Initiative, by David H. Lenok, July 17, 2017, WealthManaghement.com, USA.

Green not the only colour for ethical bond investors. "The green bond market has boomed in the past decade but now a host of other financial products have begun to emerge, promising to tackle social issues including homelessness, access to education, clean water, crime prevention and helping disadvantaged children."

[COMMENTARY] A good review of the market and growth of social bonds. This will interest many ethical investors.
Green not the only colour for ethical bond investors, by Kate Allen, July 17, 2017, Financial Times, UK.

Transition risk for oil & gas in a low carbon world. "This new analysis provides a way of understanding whether the supply options of the largest publicly traded oil and gas producers are aligned with demand levels consistent with a 2 degree Celsius (2D) carbon budget. By allocating the carbon budget to potential oil and gas projects, through applying the economic logic of a carbon supply cost curve, it is possible to identify which companies have the highest exposure to potential capital expenditure (capex) to 2025.

This report provides a snapshot of the potentially unneeded capex spend for 69 global oil and gas companies – highlighting for the first time, the wide-ranging degree of exposure amongst companies in the sector."

[COMMENTARY] This is an important report for investors! The above quotes provide the explanation of what's in it. Well done Carbon Tracker and PRI!
Transition risk for oil & gas in a low carbon world, press release, July 2017, UK.

ESG Reports and Ratings: What They Are, Why They Matter. "Report and ratings methodology, scope and coverage, however, vary greatly among providers. Many providers encourage input and engagement with their subject companies to improve or sometimes correct data. Third party ESG report and ratings providers include: (i) Bloomberg ESG Data Service; (ii) Corporate Knights Global 100; (iii) DowJones Sustainability Index (DJSI); (iv) MSCI ESG Research; (v) RepRisk; (vi) Sustainalytics Company ESG Reports; and (vii) Thomson Reuters ESG Research Data. This memorandum provides an overview and analysis of these providers."

[COMMENTARY] Davis Polk provides a good overview of ESG raters and their methodologies. The review also covers ESG ETFs and portfolios.
ESG Reports and Ratings: What They Are, Why They Matter, by Davis Polk, July 12, 2017, 7 Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, USA.

10 studies that show how and why ESG investing works. "How do ESG, or environment, social, and governance investments, perform? When do these strategies work, and why? Here’s a look at the circumstances under which ESG-related investing works the best, across different asset classes such as stocks and bonds."

[COMMENTARY] Great compilation of studies relating the benefits of ESG to corporate financial performance and stock prices.
10 studies that show how and why ESG investing works, by TruValue Labs, July 10, 2017, USA.

CDP launches first climate impact fund rating platform. "The platform lists 2,500 European funds – equal to €2.5 trillion – and aims at helping investors in their investment decision-making taking the climate change impact of the funds into account."

[COMMENTARY] A terrific new fund rating product for European investors! It's ground-breaking in that it rates funds specifically on aggregate climate impacts of their holdings. Hopefully, this type of ratings' service will develop for funds globally.
CDP launches first climate impact fund rating platform, press release, July 7, 2017, UK.

PRI finds disconnect between investors, ratings agencies on ESG factors. "'Investors and (rating agencies) struggle to agree on what is a reasonable time horizon to consider,' said the report. 'Investors tend to align their time horizons with their investment objectives: some buy and hold long-term bonds until maturity (while) others trade more frequently.'"

[COMMENTARY] An interesting point is raised here. Should ratings agencies assign to companies different ratings over varying time periods? Would you like to see how the agencies rate a company over, say, one, three, five or ten years? It certainly would provide a fuller picture for investors. I know ratings agencies read this site so I wonder if any of them have an opinion on this? Let me know!
PRI finds disconnect between investors, ratings agencies on ESG factors, by Sophie Baker, July 5, 2017, Pensions & Investments, USA.

ESG ‘best signal’ for future risk in equities. "But ESG appears to isolate non-fundamental attributes that have real earnings impact: these attributes have been a better signal of future earnings volatility than any other measure we have found... US financials that did not survive the global financial crisis saw disproportionate ranks for diversity, shareholder rights and compensation policy."

[COMMENTARY] Finally, what is common sense --that poor ESG factors can have a negative influence on corporate financial performance -- has been found to be true in this Bank of America Merrill Lynch study.
ESG ‘best signal’ for future risk in equities, by Jessica Tasman-Jones, June 29, 2017, Fund Strategy, USA.

European Commission takes further steps to enhance business transparency on social and environmental matters. "These guidelines will help companies to disclose relevant non-financial information in a consistent and more comparable manner. The aim is to boost corporate transparency and performance, as well as encourage companies to embrace a more sustainable approach."

[COMMENTARY] Europe again leads in the implementation of ESG. These new guidelines reinforce and expand upon the earlier ones dating back to 2014.
European Commission takes further steps to enhance business transparency on social and environmental matters, press release, June 26, 2017, European Commission, Belgium.

Canadian companies among the most carbon intensive in the developed world. "Genus Capital Management today released 'The Carbon Emissions Report: The Effect of Carbon Emissions on Investment Returns,' which concluded that an investment portfolio's carbon intensity negatively impacted returns by 9.2 per cent over the past seven years, after adjusting for other variables and risk factors...

High intensity emitters tend to be penalized by the market because their businesses are neither efficient nor forward facing. Divesting from fossil fuels is one way to minimize the carbon intensity of a portfolio. By conducting this research, we're pleased to see that the results support the case for divestment and sustainable investing."

[COMMENTARY] I've seen several studies of this nature. As ESG criteria are implemented by money managers, this type of outcome is to be increasingly expected.
Canadian companies among the most carbon intensive in the developed world, press release, June 28, 2017, Genus Fossil Free funds, Canada.

More Companies Reporting on ESG. "Around 82% of S and P 500 companies published corporate sustainability reports in 2016, according to the Governance and Accountability Institute, up from 20% in 2011 and 72% in 2013."

[COMMENTARY] These are great numbers and demonstrate how companies are responding to investor demands for increased ESG reporting. For companies, there's the additional benefit of measuring themselves on ESG variables, many of which are material to their operations and can help improve their financials.
More Companies Reporting on ESG, by Leila Mead, June 27, 2017, International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), USA.

Institutional Investors More Likely to Invest in Companies with Business-Driven ESG Disclosures, According to New White Paper. "Ninety-eight percent of institutional investors say a company with strong environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives makes for a more attractive investment, according to the newly released white paper, Is Your ESG Report Getting Noticed?, developed by Burson-Marsteller, a strategic communications and global public relations firm, and research firm PSB."

[COMMENTARY] Wow. Such studies and surveys are coming thick and fast. They demonstrate how ESG has become popular in finance today. It's been a long time coming.
Institutional Investors More Likely to Invest in Companies with Business-Driven ESG Disclosures, According to New White Paper, press release, June 26, 2017, Burson-Marsteller, USA.

Can Good Corporate Citizenship Be Measured? "A new study that tries to quantify and correlate stock performance with E.S.G. factors is generating a lot of chatter among the investor class. The study, developed by a team of quantitative strategists led by Savita Subramanian at Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch Global Research unit, appears to be the most expansive, looking at several hundred companies over a decade starting in 2005."

[COMMENTARY] Interesting analysis. Largely supportive that a focus on ESG may provide improved returns. However, I'd appreciate it if the study mostly discussed in this article were published in a recognized financial journal with proper peer review. For me, the 'gold standard' in ESG - financial performance is, ESG and Financial Performance: Aggregated Evidence from More than 2000 Empirical Studies. Admittedly, it only looks at ESG and corporate financial performance, whereas, Subramanian's et al study above relates ESG to stock performance.

For another view on ESG and investment performance, see, From the Stockholder to the Stakeholder: How Sustainability Can Drive Financial Outperformance, by Arabesque Asset Management and Oxford University.
Can Good Corporate Citizenship Be Measured? By Andrew Ross Sorkin, June 26, 2017, The New York Times, USA.

95% of European pension funds ignore climate change impact: Mercer. "With NASA stating that April 2017 was the second hottest since records began in 1880 (with 2016 the hottest), Mercer’s recent report has found that only 5% of 1,241 European pensions schemes have considered the investment risk posed by climate change. As a result the consultancy has called for 'more urgency from the industry' to address the issue. The 2017 report – Mercer’s 15th edition – gathers information from 1,241 institutional investors across 13 countries, reflecting total assets of around €1.1 trillion."

[COMMENTARY] These findings are surprising given the relatively high level of purported integration of ESG by European money managers. It would be interesting to hear from Mercer and the compilers of other relevant studies as to why there is this apparent contradiction.
95% of European pension funds ignore climate change impact: Mercer, by Gary Robinson, June 26, 2017, International Investment, UK.

Individuals and institutions split on benefits of ESG investing: survey. "Individuals believe the environmental, social, and ethical records of the companies they invest in are important, said Natixis, while professionals at institutions and within 'the investment community' were more sceptical about the efficacy of these strategies, for example having concerns about performance measurement."

[COMMENTARY] The findings of this Natixis Global Asset Management survey highlight -- in part -- why the financial industry has taken so long to respond to client ESG interests. Despite the arguments made in this article, I suggest that investment professionals not only disregarded their clients interests but have taken an extraordinarily long time to understand what ESG is and its potential alpha. Another issue is that most investment professionals have become short-term oriented, whereas, ESG investing is more about performance over the long-term.
Individuals and institutions split on benefits of ESG investing: survey, by Susanna Rust, June 15, 2017, IPE, UK.

Millennials Think About Charity Entirely Differently -- they invest in companies making a positive impact and "social entrepreneurism." "A study by Bank of America-owned U.S. Trust showed the youngest of the three generations isn't as interested in writing a check for a good cause — millennials would rather contribute in other ways, which could affect how an advisor manages their wealth. Only 36 percent of millennials defined 'giving' as making a charitable financial donation, versus 61 percent of Gen X participants and 83 percent of Boomers."

[COMMENTARY] This is good news for advisors and the financial markets. It assists the overall orientation towards ESG and is positive for improved ethical behavior in all financial market participants.
Millennials Think About Charity Entirely Differently, June 14, 2017, WealthManagement, USA.

Americans Question Motives Behind CSR. "According to the latest annual Harris Poll Reputation Quotient study, which tracks the perception of the 100 most visible companies in the U.S. by asking consumers to rank their reputations across a half-dozen key attributes, 45 percent said they believe companies embark on CSR initiatives because they believe it’s a role they should play as leaders in their communities.

Conversely, a similar amount — 40 percent — said they believe companies develop CSR initiatives only to bolster their public image and establish social value for stakeholders."

[COMMENTARY] I believe it's a great thing that companies embark on CSR activities. However, I wonder if the term CSR has outlived itself? I find ESG a much better differentiator between companies as I believe it delivers a better corporate focus (organizationally and financially) and possibly reduced 'greenwashing' for consumers.
Americans Question Motives Behind CSR, by Jon Gingerich, June 12, 2017, O'Dwyer's, USA.

16th annual Best 50 Corporate Citizens in Canada report. "This year’s Best 50 Corporate Citizens in Canada ranking is a reflection of this new disclosure climate. Corporate Knights had maintained 12 key performance indicators for a number of years due, in part, to how widely disclosed these data points were on an industry-wide scale. Additional metrics were not adopted because of the limited value provided by assessing companies on a metric that isn’t available for the majority of companies in the research universe.

With sustainability disclosure practices improving (albeit slowly), Corporate Knights was able to add two new metrics to the ranking methodology this year: the supplier score and the clean air productivity score."

[COMMENTARY] The Best 50 Corporate Citizens in Canada is always a good read and helpful to ethical investors.
16th annual Best 50 Corporate Citizens in Canada report, June 6, 2017, Corporate Knights, Canada.

Wegmans, Publix Super Markets, Amazon, Tesla And USAA Draw Top Social Responsibility Scores In Harris Poll. "Other companies receiving 'excellent' corporate social responsibility ratings are Lowe’s, UPS and L.L. Bean. Monsanto, Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs garnered 'critical' corporate social responsibility marks in the Harris Poll study, which asked more than 23,000 consumers to rate the 100 most visible companies in the U.S. on social responsibility attributes such as: supports good causes, environmental responsibility and community responsibility."

[COMMENTARY] Some of the names at the top of this list are surprising. Wells Fargo has been engaged in some unethical customer practices, while Monsanto is criticized by a number of health critics.
Wegmans, Publix Super Markets, Amazon, Tesla And USAA Draw Top Social Responsibility Scores In Harris Poll, press release, June 7, 2017, The Harris Poll, USA.

Do SRI Funds Have a Future in [US] 401(k) Plans? "SRI funds are slow to crack the $6.7 trillion 401(K) market, even though investor demand is strong."

[COMMENTARY] This story covers the results of a survey with 600 US financial advisors. The numbers of advisors claiming to be engaged with SRI funds makes me question how the advisors might've interpreted that and other questions. If the advisors are right, then a large percentage of their client base should already be in SRI products. However, I doubt that is the case. Though, it's great to see these numbers!
Do SRI Funds Have a Future in [US] 401(k) Plans? By Mark Miller, June 2, 2017, Wealth Management, USA.

Sustainable Investment Market Report 2017 – Sustainable investment market in Germany, Austria and Switzerland makes significant gains yet again. "The strongest growth in sustainable investments was recorded in Switzerland (+39%), followed by Austria (+24%) and Germany (+15%). 'Each year, we see increasing numbers of investors opting for sustainability in the management of their assets,' says Volker Weber, Chair of the Board of Directors at FNG, commenting on the latest market figures. 'Institutional investors, in particular, are increasingly being won over, while we know from asset managers that more and more of them see factoring in non-financial criteria as a normal part of their fiduciary duties.'"

[COMMENTARY] These are huge one-year growth figures. Quite likely a few very large funds were particularly responsible. Sustainable investing is now mainstream almost everywhere.
Sustainable Investment Market Report 2017 – Sustainable investment market in Germany, Austria and Switzerland makes significant gains yet again, press release, June 1, 2017, Eurosif, Europe.

Institutional Investors to Boost ESG Investments. "Nearly 80% of asset managers and asset owners incorporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into their decision-making, according to a survey from BNP Paribas Securities Services. The report, titled 'Great Expectations: ESG – What’s next for asset owners and managers,' found that among the asset owners incorporating ESG, 46% plan to invest at least half of their assets into funds that incorporate ESG by 2019."

[COMMENTARY] This survey indicates tremendous growth for ESG based institutional investing strategies in the next few years. It's certainly a positive for all ethical investors.
Institutional Investors to Boost ESG Investments, by Michael Katz, June 1, 2017, Chief Investment Officer, USA.

Now, this is controversial: FAU Study Says Corporate Social Responsibility Does Not Prove to Be a Profitable Investment for Most Companies. "Companies that try to 'do good' are likely to find that Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is bad for their bottom lines, according to a new study from Florida Atlantic University's College of Business. 'We found that emphasizing Corporate Social Responsibility is not good for shareholders,' said David Javakhadze, Ph.D., assistant professor of finance, who investigated the relationship between CSR and efficiency with which firms allocate their capital resources. 'If you're an investor you should think twice before you invest in those firms that emphasize CSR.'"

[COMMENTARY] Since numerous studies including those from elite universities such as Harvard and Oxford have shown that companies excelling in ESG (CSR?) perform as well or better financially and in stock returns, this new study is an outlier. Nonetheless, it's worth reviewing and critiquing.
FAU Study Says Corporate Social Responsibility Does Not Prove to Be a Profitable Investment for Most Companies, press release, June 1, 2017, Florida Atlantic University College of Business, USA.

Canadian investors are interested in responsible investments, and they want gender pay equity and more women in corporate leadership. "The report, sponsored by OceanRock Investments Inc., found that while 77% of investors are interested in RI, a staggering 73% know very little or nothing about it. These results highlight the 'RI awareness gap' – a significant gap between investor interest vs knowledge about RI.

'A strong majority of investors told us that they are more likely to choose responsible investments if their advisor suggests suitable options or if their financial institution, credit union or online brokerage informed them about responsible investments,' said Deb Abbey, CEO of the RIA."

[COMMENTARY] At the beginning of Canada's 2017 RIA Conference in Vancouver, the RIA announces some incredible survey findings: Canadian investors want responsible investing!
2017 RIA Investor Opinion Survey, press release, June 1, 2017, RIA, Canada.

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