ISS ESG is to adjust the methodology and data underlying its Environmental & Social Disclosure QualityScore product. The environmental and social risk assessment tool will undergo changes by the third quarter in response to changed disclosure standards. The Maryland-based sustainable investment arm of Institutional Shareholder Services said more than 150 factors underlying the score would be reviewed, with 60 new additions and 50 retired.

Bloomberg has included ESG information in a major new product that provides transparency into almost 150,000 funds and exchange traded products. The Funds Data Solution also offers foundational, holdings, corporate actions, risk and regulatory data.

Linedata has published the results of its 2023 Global Asset Management Survey, revealing a focus on operational efficiency, digital transformation, and client experience. The survey is designed to provide insights into the priorities and challenges asset management firms are facing and includes responses from 265 industry leaders across the Americas, Europe, and Asia-Pacific.

The report notes factors that are shaping asset management, including continuing digital transformation led by automation, data integration pain points exemplified by ESG, outsourcing, AI adoption, and the journey to cloud. In support of these factors, it identifies key trends across the asset management community including the need to increase operational efficiency – which is top of the strategic agenda, technology spending priorities on risk management, including compliance, and portfolio and operational risk; intensifying demand for ESG data; and acceleration towards adopting flexible operating models.

C. Hoare & Co., the UK’s oldest privately-owned bank, has deployed cloud-based SaaS FX technology from Integral, the currency technology provider, to offer competitive FX rates and market liquidity access to its business and personal account customers.

By providing the bank with liquidity aggregation, an FX pricing engine and API distribution to customers, Integral is helping C. Hoare & Co. to improve service to its current customers and reach new market segments, while avoiding the significant costs associated with building its own infrastructure.

OSTTRA, the global post-trade solutions provider, has successfully carried out the first cross-currency swap conversions of USD/SGD swaps from SOR to SORA. This development is a part of OSTTRA’s ongoing efforts since 2021 to assist market participants in transitioning from legacy Libor benchmarks to new risk-free rates (RFRs). The conversion process generates overlay transactions, which are submitted for clearing to minimise risk and present value (PV) impact.

The first multilateral conversion involved eleven market participants, while a second run involved twenty-one participants. OSTTRA now plans to expand the service to cover other indices subject to cessation, such as MXN, PLN, ZAR and CAD. The new service is facilitated by OSTTRA’s triReduce and triBalance, with CCP connectivity provided via OSTTRA MarkitWire.

Novata, an ESG data provider to private markets and investors, has signed a deal to embed its services with investor assistance group IQ:EQ. US-based Novata’s portfolio assessment platform will be incorporated into IQ:EQ’s various ESG solutions, which enable clients to gather, manage and deploy sustainability data.

Clients of Sustainable Fitch can now access its ESG Regulations and Reporting Standards Tracker, which seeks to bring transparency to changes in the global sustainability disclosures space. The service is offered with Fitch Group, which provides the data backbone of the tracker, enabling companies to stay up to date with changes to compliance obligations.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) has brought together a team of experts to offer best-practices guidance to the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB). The group will monitor implementation and adoption of ISSB’s first set of standards, which are set to be unveiled by the end of this month, and offer insights and advice.

Data vendor and asset manager Arabesque has jointly created an AI-supported ESG index with HSBC. The ESG Risk Improvers Index uses publicly available data and data from Arabesque’s ESG Book, a sustainability metrics platform built for financial institutions in conjunction with several large international banks.

A news sentiment scoring tool has been created to help investors gauge the ESG performances of listed companies. AI-backed GaiaLens Momentum AI assesses the scores against the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, giving investors real-time visibility into their investments’ activities before they issue their periodic reports.