ESG & Sustainability

Following a push from local authorities and significant evolution in ESG data disclosure, investors can now access reliable corporate information and invest in Chinese companies leading in sustainability.

This month’s UN COP15 biodiversity summit will accelerate the discussion around nature loss and advance the notion that mismanagement of investment portfolios’ biodiversity impact entails risks. On a positive note, innovation in datasets now allow the integration of biodiversity metrics in investment strategies and indices, opening the possibility of similar progress in this field as has occurred in recent years with climate action.

The new SDI Innovation Outlook dataset from the Sustainable Development Investments Asset Owner Platform (SDI AOP) helps investors anticipate companies’ future contributions to the SDGs based on patenting of intellectual property.

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

The STOXX® Global 1800 index rose for a second straight month in November as investors raised expectations that higher interest rates are helping temper inflation.

The Sustainable Development Investments Asset Owner Platform (SDI AOP) and Qontigo, its exclusive distribution partner, have announced the launch of the SDI Innovation Outlook. The new dataset provides forward looking information, by analyzing the alignment of companies’ patent portfolios with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

The first collaboration between Postal Savings Bank of China and Qontigo will allow the lender’s clients to access a portfolio of large Chinese equities chosen for their sustainability scores and optimized to limit deviations from the benchmark in terms of risk and industry allocation.

In the race to net-zero and the era of sustainable investing, indices can have a bigger role than just channeling capital to specific goals. At Qontigo we believe we must engage with index constituents to encourage best practices in climate alignment and explain the impact that climate-related metrics can have on index composition.

Qontigo, a global provider of indices and analytics and part of Deutsche Börse Group, has licensed the STOXX PSBC China A ESG Index to Postal Savings Bank of China (PSBC). The index serves as an underlying for an onshore wealth management vehicle launched by PSBC. The index applies an ESG score, exclusionary screens, and incorporates Qontigo’s quantitative portfolio construction tools.

The customized index is an optimized solution that balances multiple investment objectives and uses various inputs, including LGIM’s proprietary ESG data.

Qontigo has licensed the newly launched iSTOXX World Min Vol ESG Index to Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM). The index will be used for a large pension fund mandate. This index is based on STOXX’s broadest equity universe, the STOXX World AC (All Countries), including both Developed and Emerging Markets and incorporates both proprietary ESG data provided by LGIM and data from ISS ESG.

The STOXX® Global 1800 index rebounded from a two-year low last month on investors’ expectations that the Federal Reserve may soon slow down the pace of interest-rate hikes.