Insights and News
What’s in a name?
Fund names are coming under regulatory scrutiny, where those names include sustainability related terms, managers must have appropriate evidence to back up the activity.
Stewardship in Focus
One of the key tools many investors have to drive value creation at their investments is through stewardship, but how this is implemented is critical for success.
The PRI in 2024
After a couple of problematic years for the PRI reporting process, can the Progression Pathways refocus the important role that the PRI has in delivery investment outcomes?
Governance – not within ESG but of ESG
The management and understanding of ESG factors, either within a company or as part of an investment process, requires appropriate scrutiny and oversight, particularly as this relates to implementing change.
Governance (potentially) off the table in New Hampshire
A newly proposed bill in the New Hampshire House of Representatives has the potential to take the politicisation of ESG to the next level.
NorthPeak Advisory publishes its inaugural Sustainability Report
We are delighted to be publishing our inaugural NPA Sustainability Report marking our third anniversary that took place in September. We are very proud to have supported over 50+ clients globally on their ESG journey and to have expanded our client base from our initial alternative asset management focus to corporates.
Worldfavor is forming a partnership with NorthPeak Advisory
Today, global sustainability platform Worldfavor is proud to announce its new partnership with NorthPeak Advisory – a specialist ESG advisory firm that services Asset Managers, Asset Owners and Corporates. This new partnership will create a foundation for close collaboration on the two companies' shared mission of advancing ESG integration and responsible investment practices throughout the investment process.
SEC Compliance Risk: Include it on your Current ESG Agenda
As asset owners increase their focus on environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) considerations within the investment process, and particularly climate-related considerations, asset managers are responding to these demands. However, while doing so they are unintentionally opening themselves up to compliance risk, with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) increasingly scrutinizing asset manager ESG claims to protect investors, and flows of capital, from being subject to Greenwashing.
Responsible Investing: Considerations for Shorting and Derivatives
Much has been written and many discussions have been held on how Responsible Investment (“RI”) practices fit in the context of short-selling and derivatives. In the past months, numerous industry associations and organisations have published research and opinion pieces on the topic, while the market is waiting for clarified guidance from regulators. We hope that we in this paper are able to unify some of the thinking – after all, we are all ultimately solving for similar things: transparency, no loopholes, clarity around risk-return, and clarity around impact.
The Perversion of ESG Investing
As ESG Investing becomes increasingly politicised in the United States, we provide a breakdown of where such politicisation stems from, and their inherent flaws, its impact on asset managers and what asset managers can begin doing to navigate this increasingly challenging landscape.
Financial Services Sector: What does ESG mean at the corporate level?
The effective structuring and implementation of a meaningful ESG strategy is no easy task. In this article, we seek to clarify what ESG means for financial services firms at the corporate level, and the actions that can be taken to help frame an approach to ESG.
ESG Scepticism
From Elon Musk to Heads of ESG, the ESG and Responsible Investment space is facing increasing scrutiny. The debate has highlighted shortcomings in understanding and we want to emphasise some key fallacies that skew the debate.
Is Sustainable Finance Just Greenwash
An interview on BBC’s Business Daily show discussing the issues around understanding what sustainable investing is.
The ESG Skills Gap: Three main challenges and how to overcome them
ESG knowledge is a deal-breaker when it comes to successful implementation and communication of ESG practices. In this article, we cover the main barriers for developing ESG skills and how these can be overcome efficiently.
2021: ESG Review
As ESG advisors, we have seen tremendous positive momentum and innovations that have helped push sustainable finance further in the past year, however significant challenges remain. In this piece, we provide our commentary on some of the biggest topics in the ESG space.
The ‘ESG’ label
The sustained demand for ESG has resulted in many managers using ‘ESG’ to label their investment products, however, this only creates confusion because there is no one definition of ESG within the investment process.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Financial Services Industry
In parallel to the “how to define the new way of working?” discussion, there is continued momentum around Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI ) in the financial services industry. This is a complex issue where the actions require more than diversity targets to be meaningful.
The Social Dilemma
As shown by the Wall Street Journal shedding light onto Facebook’s activities, investors are right to be considering social factors within their investment process. However, their due diligence is not being helped by the continued discrepancies within ESG Data.
From the House of Commons to the Boardroom: How “Anticipated Reactions” Strengthen Stewardship Efforts
The 2021 Proxy Season highlighted a distinct shift in ESG attitudes among management boards, fuelled by successful stewardship efforts from investors and advocacy groups. Now is the time for investors to revisit their stewardship practices.
Diversity in Practice: An Allocator, Manager and Consultant Panel
A panel discussion on practical solutions for improving diversity, equity and inclusion for managers and allocators.
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