If any confirmation was needed that ESG considerations are likely to have an ongoing and increasing effect on the investment landscape, such confirmation came in mid-August. It was reported that, in an email to the Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority (APRA) written in mid-April, AQR Capital Management (AQR), a major US-based investment manager,

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There’s little doubt that ESG is playing an increasingly important part in the investing landscape. In the U.S., ESG investments saw record flows from investors in 2020, just as they did the year before, and the year before that¹.

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I’m not a female portfolio manager, but a portfolio manager who happens to be a female, and in what is often referred to as an ‘old-fashioned’ and male-dominated industry, I’m here to break the mould.
My first job out of university was an operational role for another fund manager. I still remember googling ‘impressive Excel skills for interview’ the night before my first real job interview,

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Last week I read an interesting piece by someone who clearly is not a fan of thematic investing.
He demonstrated the dangers of jumping on the ‘next big thing’, pointing out, for example, the risks faced by early investors in the automobile industry.

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Climate change is a global megatrend
Megatrends are powerful forces that can transform the trajectory of the global economy. They can have a meaningful impact not just on how we live and how we spend money, but also on corporate strategies and government policies.

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Eurasia Group (a world leader in political risk analysis), published their Top Risks of 2021 report on 4 January.
In their view, 2021 will overwhelmingly be about economic responses to Covid-19’s lingering effects (debt burdens and misaligned politics), even as vaccines are rolled out and the actual healthcare emergency fades.

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ESG (environmental, social and governance) considerations have been increasing in importance for investors in recent years and have been brought further into focus during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Since the start of the pandemic, the knock-on effects of lockdown, including restricted movements of people and shutdown of industrial activity,

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The devastation of the Australian bushfires brought the very real effects of climate change to the forefront of investors’ minds. Now more than ever, many investors are looking to put their dollars to work towards a sustainable future.
Many investors will be aware of our three equity-focused ethical equities ETFs: the Australian Sustainability Leaders ETF (ASX: FAIR),

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Late last week, German payments giant Wirecard filed for insolvency, owing creditors almost $5.8 billion. The company’s collapse came a week after its auditor, Ernst and Young (EY), found a massive $3.1 billion hole in its books. EY refused to sign off on the company’s 2019 accounts,

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One of the few silver linings to the COVID-19 cloud is the benefit to the environment as a byproduct of shutting down the global economy – although many believe that this benefit is likely to be reversed once the crisis is over.
Separately,

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