ESG & Sustainability

MIT Professor of Applied Economics Roberto Rigobon took the stage at the recent Qontigo Investment Intelligence Summit in New York to explain how inconsistencies in measurement, scope and priorities are leading to vast discrepancies in ESG ratings. To avoid confusion and mismanagement, he said, decision-makers must strive to understand what’s behind the data and carefully choose what best fits their goals.

At the recent Qontigo Investment Intelligence Summit, WTW’s climate experts discussed how investors can better grasp a company’s climate-transition risk by looking forward to the future impact on its cash flows, rather than backwards at its carbon footprint.

Changes were announced as part of the June regular review for the DAX 50 ESG, DAX ESG Target and DAX indices.

Real estate has long had the reputation of being at least a partial hedge against inflation, since both rental income and property values typically respond positively to inflationary pressures. The iSTOXX Developed and Emerging Markets ex USA PK VN Index has lived up to this reputation historically and is continuing to do so in the current inflationary environment.

ESG and climate metrics can be used as signals to generate alpha either on a stand-alone basis or to strengthen traditional style factors, BlackRock’s Andrew Ang explained during the Qontigo Investment Intelligence Summit.

The iSTOXX® Global Climate Change ESG NR Decrement 4.5% offers exposure to a portfolio on a decarbonization pathway and is compliant with the European Union Climate Benchmarks regulation.

A rebound in the month’s last week helped the STOXX® Global 1800 index record a small positive return for May, as investors continue to assess the impact on markets of rising interest rates in the US and elsewhere.

One year after the introduction of Europe’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation, SFDR Arts. 8 and 9 funds increased their combined share of total European fund assets to 45.6%.

A new Qontigo whitepaper analyzes the risk characteristics and factor exposures of the STOXX Willis Towers Watson Climate Transition Indices (CTIs). The study helps investors understand the implications of a portfolio that is aligned with the goals of the Paris Agreement and that manages the risks and opportunities from moving to a low-carbon economy.

The STOXX WTW Climate Transition Indices are a new approach to managing climate risk that offer investors a systematic and transparent way to incorporate climate transition risk into their investment decisions.

The Index Industry Association (IIA) provides education and advocacy on behalf of independent index providers worldwide, CEO Rick Redding explains to Qontigo’s blog. With the transformation of the role and shape of indices in full swing, he sees huge possibilities for the industry and for investors ahead – as well as key challenges.

Stocks tumbled in April by the most since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic as investors’ expectations grew that the Federal Reserve and other central banks will need to raise interest rates faster and higher to fight inflation.