May 2023

US. Senate passes bill banning state’s pension, investment funds from ESG considerations

The Ohio Senate sent to the House on Wednesday a bill that would prohibit managers of the state’s five pension systems and other investment funds from choosing investments based on their social, environmental and corporate governance goals. ESG principles consider companies’ and funds’ policies affecting the environment and climate. Social goals include how a company treats its employees, suppliers and customers. Governance policies require an examination of corporate leadership, executive pay, shareholder rights and internal controls. Recently, Republicans across the country...

Inversión Sostenible en Fondos de Pensión

Por ANAFAP La Inversión Sostenible consiste en crear valor económico a través del cuidado del medio ambiente, el respeto por los derechos humanos y la buena gobernanza de las empresas. Dado que al Integrar criterios ASG (ESG según sus siglas en inglés) en el proceso de inversión se busca promover una mejor toma de decisiones, logrando obtener un adecuado perfil riesgo-retorno en las inversiones. Estos temas son de gran relevancia a nivel mundial y las restricciones y acuerdos entre países son...

Inversión Responsable: Estudio Anual 2023

Por GOVERNART En 2017 realizamos la primera versión del Estudio de Inversión Responsable en Latinoamérica, en el cual anticipamos importantes oportunidades para que tanto empresas como inversionistas institucionales pudieran converger alrededor del enfoque ambiental, social y de gobierno corporativo (ASG), en la gestión de negocios sostenibles, y en los procesos de análisis y de inversión responsable. En 2020, publicamos la segunda versión de este Estudio, en el que evidenciamos el incipiente incremento inversionistas con interés en la inversión responsable, y anticipamos un incremento de interés...

México. ¿Afores deben cumplir con ESG?

En México existen más de 72 millones de cuentas de ahorro que administran más de 5.3 billones de pesos, de acuerdo con datos de la Consar, además las Afores son el mayor inversionista institucional de México, pero, ¿también deben cumplir con las prácticas y criterios ESG? La Consar lanzó un mensaje donde invitan a las Afores a tomar acción inmediata y forjar políticas que implementen los criterios ESG en sus operaciones y sigan los principios de inversión responsable de la...

US. DeSantis signs anti-ESG bill one day after state clean-energy investment

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a likely 2024 Republican presidential candidate, signed a bill Tuesday he touted as the latest salvo in his war against ESG investing, one day after the state's investment office announced a significant investment in clean energy. The law requires the Florida State Board of Administration, Tallahassee, to make investment decisions based "solely on pecuniary factors" and not include environmental, social and governance considerations. The board, which consists of Mr. DeSantis, Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis, and...

Pension Law and Social Responsibility in the UK: ESG Investing for Pensions

Trustees of pension schemes have a fiduciary duty to act in the best interests of the scheme's beneficiaries. This includes making investment decisions that will provide adequate returns to fund the pension promises made to scheme members. However, as the world becomes more conscious of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues, there is increasing pressure on trustees to consider the impact of their investments on society and the planet. What is ESG Investing? ESG investing is an investment approach that considers...

April 2023

Innovación financiera para una economía sostenible

Por Andrés Alonso & José Manuel Marqués El cambio climático, su gestión y mitigación, constituye sin duda uno de los elementos de riesgo más importantes que afrontará nuestra sociedad en las próximas décadas. El sector financiero desempeña un papel fundamental en este reto, tanto por su exposición y las consiguientes implicaciones patrimoniales que pueden derivarse de la materialización de este riesgo como por su labor canalizando las inversiones necesarias para transformar nuestra economía en un modelo sostenible. En este artículo se...

Pension fund PGGM warns on dangers of social greenwashing

The principal director for responsible investments at PGGM Investments, the investment manager for the €277 billion ($306 billion) Dutch pension fund, has pointed to the continued challenges associated with measuring the social impact of investments, highlighting the reputational dangers of social greenwashing. “You encounter liberal definitions. There is some inflation in the terms that we want to be very cautious about. You don’t want to overstate [investors’] social contributions,” said Hans Op’t Veld, principal director for responsible investments at the...

Incorporating Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Factors into fixed income investment

By The World Bank Group  A growing body of research shows that Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors are material credit risk for fixed income investors. The evidence suggests that incorporating ESG into fixed income investing should be part of the overall credit risk analysis and should contribute to more stable financial returns. Its also dispels the myth that incorporating ESG means having to sacrifice financial returns. ESG investing is increasingly becoming part of the mainstream investment process for fixed income investors, as opposed...

EU Climate Risk Regulation Gets Real for the Financial Industry

Political battle lines in the U.S. may have hardened — especially when it comes to applying sustainability standards to public pension investing — but in the EU, things have moved faster. In Europe, climate risk is now accepted as one of the biggest macroeconomic forces impacting economic and business sustainability, and as a result, investment firms are actively grappling with critical decisions on sustainability compliance — including risk measurement, reporting and portfolio composition. Over the past several years, legislators have...