Hurdles such as foreign exchange limitations still exist, but the new rules could help private equity fund managers and investors with ESG integration.
South Korea's National Pension Service and Singapore's GIC have signed up to the Asia Investor Group on Climate Change as momentum builds on sustainability issues.
Investors in Australia increasingly want companies to formulate better sustainability strategies for the recovery phase of the Covid-19 crisis, but data limitations remain a concern.
As the global economy faces up to the effect of Covid-19, investors are focusing more on how portfolio companies are handling their response to the pandemic with their workforces.
The pandemic has revealed allocation weaknesses at some pension funds, and they should consider delegating investing and portfolio structuring decisions, argues Mercer.
CPPIB, Omers and OTPP are busy hiring in the region for investment talent in credit, real assets and particularly equities. Omers is also planning to add office space in Singapore.
China Pacific Insurance appoints new chairwoman, COO; AMP's CEO to leave by third quarter; Robeco announces duo in senior China roles; Axa IM hires head of institutional sales for Asia; GLP names co-president for logistics; BlackRock sells onshore Korea distribution business; Income Partners poaches head of distribution from Vanguard; and more.
Although sustainable funds have seen increasing inflows amid growing environmental awareness and the spotlight on social issues due to Covid-19, the industry still lacks a standard definition of sustainable investing. Nicholette MacDonald-Brown, head of European blend equities at Schroders, explains the firm’s three-pronged approach of people, process and purpose.
The Singapore state fund recently bought into impact investing specialist LeapFrog, and is eyeing more investments that combine strong financial returns with a positive social effect.
Special purpose acquisition companies (Spacs) have gained ground as financing vehicles for companies looking to go public. But Asian family offices have yet to make many investments.
Swiss Re hires head of China asset management business; BlackRock deregisters its China WFOE; DWS names head of Apac insurance coverage; Amundi appoints first Asia sustainability officer; Manulife IM appoints senior portfolio manager for asset allocation; Morgan Stanley IM hires portfolio manager for A-shares; and more.
Asset owners are interested in sustainable investments but they lack enough peer benchmarks and suitable products, according to a World Economic Forum white paper.