ESG & Sustainability

Stocks rose in July amid signs that global inflation is easing and that the US economy may avoid a recession.

At a recent IPE webinar, experts from STOXX, ISS ESG and DWS discussed how biodiversity impact is becoming a new risk consideration for portfolio managers amid tightening regulation and client demand. Participants also examined the new ISS STOXX Biodiversity indices as a framework to tackle nature-related risks and opportunities.

In June, stocks had their second-best month this year on optimism that the global economy is weathering a slowdown and that inflation is easing.

The IIA published their third annual ESG Global Survey of Asset Managers, revealing that widening factors, expanding asset classes, and emerging tech are driving a maturing ESG landscape.

As asset owners take more control of their investments, one group of participants is providing fellow institutions with a novel way to meet their ESG mandates and obligations. SDI AOP has partnered with global index and analytics provider Qontigo to make its own SDI data available to other institutions and asset managers.

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

Global equity indices retreated in May, dragged lower by European and Asian shares. In the US, better-than-expected earnings from technology companies overshadowed concerns about a government default and ongoing interest rate hikes.

At the Sustainable Investment Forum Europe 2023, Antonio Celeste, Director, Sustainable Product Management at Qontigo spoke about sustainability, greenwashing, and biodiversity. Watch the whole interview here:

Philips Pensioenfonds, in collaboration with index and analytics provider Qontigo and asset manager BlackRock, has successfully aligned its € 370 million emerging markets equity portfolio with several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The mandate, managed by BlackRock, tracks a custom equity benchmark, the iSTOXX® PPF Responsible SDG Emerging Markets Index.

A new Qontigo article revisits the concept of tracking error, a metric that’s gaining even more attention amid the growth of sustainable portfolios. Hamish Seegopaul, Global Head for Index Product Innovation at Qontigo, addresses some key questions, including: How should the various degrees of tracking error be interpreted? Does the metric tell us much in terms of the future? And can we control this?

This article provides a high-level refresher of what tracking error means, and how we can embed it directly into portfolio construction.

The ISS STOXX Biodiversity Index Suite, launched this week, aims to take a more holistic approach to biodiversity than existing market offerings, Antonio Celeste, Director for Sustainability Product Management at index, analytics and risk solutions provider Qontigo, told ESG Investor.