SS&C Incorporates Sustainalytics ESG Data into its Advent Platform

Sustainalytics’ ESG data will be available to clients of SS&C’s Advent platform under a new deal struck between the companies. The arrangement will see the Morningstar company’s data used by Advent’s portfolio manager customers, enabling them to combine it with financial data. Connecticut-based SS&C said the data will be available on its Advent Genesis Platform and the Black Diamond Wealth Platform from the middle of the year.

Schwab Offers MSCI ESG Ratings to Clients

Investment giant Charles Schwab is to make third-party ESG data available to its customers. The Texas-based financial services firm will offer MSCI ESG Ratings through its web-based research too and via relevant stocks’ Schwab Equity Ratings Report. MSCI’s ratings are designed to gauge a company’s reliance to long-term ESG risks.

ESG360 Provides Moody’s Clients with ESG, Climate Risk Exposure Measures

Moody’s Investors Service has created a new platform to provide portfolio manager with ESG scores and models on private and listed companies. Moody’s ESG360, is described as an “easy-to-use” service that will enable clients to better understand the short- and long-term ESG and climate risks exposures.

Fenergo Acquires Transaction Monitoring Market Entrant Sentinels

Fenergo has acquired Sentinels, an anti-money laundering (AML) transaction monitoring market entrant with artificial intelligence (AI) based technology. As a result of the deal, Fenergo’s clients and financial institutions will be able to combine rich KYC profiles with client behavioural data for continuous and granular KYC monitoring.

Marc Murphy, CEO of Fenergo, comments: “Our shared goal of aiming to solve the increasing compliance and operational challenges facing financial institutions made Sentinels an ideal fit. By adding transaction compliance to our existing client onboarding and product origination solutions, financial institutions can monitor and review client behaviour and identify risks on an ongoing basis. This blended approach to financial crime makes us well placed to address the rising compliance challenges faced by financial institutions more efficiently.”

FCA to Require Board Diversity Disclosure

The UK’s financial regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), will expect listed companies to disclose board and executive committee diversity metrics in their sustainability reports. The finalised rule is intended to give investors transparency into the race and gender makeup of management teams. Companies will be required to make the declarations in their reports for the fiscal year that began this month. The FCA will set targets and companies failing to reach them will be expected to explain why.

DSB Publishes Final Report on UPI Legal Terms and Conditions Consultation

The Derivatives Service Bureau (DSB) has published the final report on its UPI legal terms and conditions consultation and draft user legal documentation. The report focuses on industry feedback received on the consultation paper and confirms the legal provisions and associated mechanisms to be taken forward with respect to DSB legal documentation. Stakeholder feedback to the consultation covered topics including the introduction of a UPI Client Onboarding and Support Platform (COSP), use of the Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) for user onboarding verification, use of pre-payment for lower value user fees, and fee model variables to be used for annual fee determination.

ICE Releases Data Solution for EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation

Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) has released a data service designed to help clients comply with the Principal Adverse Impacts (PAIs) element of the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR). The ICE SFDR PAI solution offers users event-triggered updates for all the mandatory adverse sustainability indicators applicable to investments in companies, sovereigns and supranationals.

The EU’s PAI regime requires specifically formatted disclosure on ESG-related indicators, including greenhouse gas emissions, board gender diversity, and energy consumption ratios, all of which are available in a conveniently formatted file or web viewing tool to clients as part of the ICE solution. The service also allows customers to link equity and fixed income securities to the closest disclosing corporate entity, offering a way to quickly match a security to the nearest parent entity with disclosed data.

EU Moves Closer to Creation of Green Bonds

The European Union took a step closer to enabling the creation of verified green bonds when council members approved a list of requirements that issuers must satisfy to be granted EU Green Bond (EuGB) status. The council said its members had agreed that a registration system and supervisory framework for external reviewers should be created. The EU had proposed the creation of EuGBs in July, one of many aspects of the 27-nation bloc’s measures to draw private finance to achieving its sustainability goals.

Xignite Builds Broker, Wealth Manager ESG API into ESG Book

Market data distribution provider Xignite has built an API to funnel ESG information to brokers and wealth managers connected to the Arabesque-managed ESG Book. California-based Xignite’s ESG API is also hoped to accelerate the creation of ESG-based financial products, it said. “If you do not offer ESG data and portfolio analytics to your clients today, you will run into growth and retention challenges,” said Xignite Chief Executive Stéphane Duboi.

ESG Forward to Feed Data Information to Sustainability-Focused Clients

A sustainability-focused content and education platform has been created to help financial advisers satisfy their clients’ demands for impact investment products. ESG Forward will feed data, blog posts, infographics and other information to advisers. The service was created by Boston-based communication and marketing firm Longview Strategies.