Data Management Insight ESG & Sustainability The latest content from across the platform
Data Challenges Limit Muni Growth in ESG Portfolios, Says PRI
US municipal bonds have the potential for greater inclusion in ESG-themed portfolios but an absence of data on the impact investors have on the debt’s sustainability outcomes may be hindering their increased use. A report by the United Nations’ Principles for Responsible Investing (PRI) stated that many so-called munis are ideally suited to investors’ ESG-themed…
ECB Says Data Quality is Key to its own ESG Guidance Tools
The European Central Bank (ECB) has said the “development of high-quality data” is key to a set of statistical indicators it’s created to help the bank incorporate sustainability risks and markets in its monetary policy decision making. Executive board member Isabel Schnabel made the comment after the ECB said its indicators would focus on sustainable…
NatureAlpha Harnesses NGO Biodiversity Data to Help Investors
ESG analytics startup NatureAlpha has teamed with a global non-profit biodiversity project to help financial institutions harness biodiversity data so they can make more sustainable investment decisions. The UK-based company has incorporated the Integrated Biodiversity Assessment Tool (IBAT) into its own analytics to provide a set of metrics that asset owners and managers can use…
US Banks to Undergo Climate Risk Stress Tests
US banks will have to undergo stress tests of their climate risk management and resilience practices under during an exercise organised by the Federal Reserve. The tests will be conducted by the end of July and will examine banks’ preparedness under their current climate policies and under a state of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions.
Direct Lenders Seek More Data to Develop ESG Market
Direct lending funds’ ambitions to invest more heavily into sustainable projects are being hindered by a shortage of good quality ESG data. The pools of capital, which have grown in popularity as banks pull away from middle-market corporate borrowers, are looking to up their lending to ESG-linked companies and projects. According to a survey by…
Index Firm Solactive to Add New ESG Services Beyond Indexing through Minerva Buy Out
German benchmarking company Solactive has bought a British stewardship solutions provider, enabling it to offer proxy voting and stewardship services to asset managers and owners. Solactive said it bought Minerva Analytics because growth in demand for ESG-related financial services had surged after it acquired a 33 per cent stake in the firm in 2019. While…
S&P and UN Creates Biodiversity Risk Framework for Investors
A nature-related risk assessment methodology has been devised by S&P Global’s Sustainable1 unit and the United Nations’ Environment Programme. The framework, which is aligned with the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures, will enable investors and companies to assess the biodiversity risks to which businesses are exposed and the impacts they are having on surrounding flora,…
Solactive Acquires Minerva Analytics
British ESG research, proxy voting and stewardship services provider Minerva Analytics has been bought by indexing firm Solactive. The deal will enable the combined company to offer better ESG indices and benchmarks as well as improved engagement capabilities with portfolio companies, for its 500-plus clients.
IAASB Sets Out Plan for ESG Assurance Standards
The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) has put to consultation proposals to standardise the verification of sustainability disclosures. The New York-based global overseer of auditing has invited comments to its website by April.
CHOM Capital Rolls up its Sleeves to Get the Data that Ratings Don’t
For managers of large-cap assets, obtaining the right ESG data is difficult. For those, like CHOM CAPITAL, that manage European equities with a particular focus on small caps, the hurdles are even greater. The oft-cited gaps in the data records of managers of blue-chips can be gaping chasms for firms whose portfolios are crammed with…