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The business case for ESG in institutional investment - The RI/MSCI round table debate
The RI/MSCI round table debate evaluated the ESG business case for Institutional Investment. On December 12, 2012, MSCI’s own Martina Macpherson and Hugh Wheelan from Responsible Investor brought together a panel of noted thinkers, practitioners and academics in sustainable finance for a debate based broadly around the following questions:
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ESG Leadership Forum - A Success
On April 27, 2012, MSCI ESG Research, Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS), University of St Andrews (RBF), UKSIF and Responsible-Investor.com hosted the ESG Leadership Forum in London and online via a global video livestream.
The event included an ESG Leaders panel discussion and was followed by a set of thematic workstreams, where experts from the industry, academia and policy making discussed the future of sustainable investing - from a macro and micro socio-economic perspective.
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Sun Hung Kai - Falling from Grace
The arrest of eight individuals related to Sun Hung Kai Properties Limited (SHK), including co-chairmen Raymond and Thomas Kwok, by Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) has led to widespread concern over the company’s outlook. Investors reacted badly to the news, with a steep fall of over 15% in the company’s share price on the morning of 30 March 2012, wiping approximately USD 5 billion off SHK’s market capitalization, marking a “Black Friday” in the company’s history.
MSCI ESG Research flagged concerns over the company’s governance practices prior to the allegations. We classify the company’s operations in Hong Kong and mainland China as facing high exposure to corruption risks and assessed SHK as having inadequate anti-corruption programs in place to mitigate those risks. Click here for the complete discussion of the Chinese regulatory and political context surrounding the investigations, which also have implications for the outlook of other companies in this industry.
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Environmental Finance Interviews MSCI about Integrating ESG into the Investment Process
With our acquisition of RiskMetrics in 2010, MSCI instantly became a major force in ESG indices and research and is aiming to take ESG integration to the next level. MSCI's Remy Briand and Marc Brammer talked to Mark Nicholls from Environmental Finance. Read the interview.
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Thomas Kuh Talks to Responsible Investor about ESG Integration
Analysis shows that ESG is poised to go mainstream: Thomas Kuh, Business Director of MSCI ESG Indices, takes a historical perspective on the interest in, and awareness of, investing in ESG-oriented companies over the past several decades. Prior to the 1990s there was a scarcity of information about companies and their ESG engagement, says Kuh; furthermore no one really had a framework for analyzing that information. Courtesy of FS Insight and Holland Financial Centre. Watch the video.
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MSCI ESG Sovereign Ratings Launch
The ratings identify a country's exposure to and management of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risk factors and explain how these factors might impact the long-term sustainability of its economy. By providing a long-term view on sustainability the ratings aim to complement traditional sovereign debt analysis for analyzing a country's credit worthiness.
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2012 ESG Trends to Watch
By Linda-Eling Lee, Global Head of MSCI ESG IVA Research
As governments in major economies begin the process of unwinding the debt cycle of the last twenty years, budget cuts to social safety nets and regulatory agencies mean that consumers will bear a heavier burden of any negative social and environmental impacts arising from corporate mismanagement. Countries and companies alike face new risks surrounding their social license to operate as communities worry about their health, security, and, increasingly, basic social equity. Concerns about the social costs of operations have a compound effect on companies – even as governments make cuts in regulatory agencies and social benefits, the political will to enforce existing regulations will strengthen in reaction to public outcry.
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Uncovering Opportunities in the Utilities Sector
While 2011 began with encouraging signs of upturn in the economy, the debt crisis in Europe and the lingering weakness of the economy in North America has continued to weigh on industrials throughout 2011, affecting utilities through decreased demand in power and gas.
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Better Access to Nutrition: A Growing Challenge for Food Producers
As fiscal and sovereign wealth problems in the US and Europe weigh on global financial markets, another problem is brewing in agricultural markets that could blunt a sustained economic recovery. World food prices have reached record levels, and show few signs of abating. Low-income consumers in the developing world have been hit especially hard, with ripple effects spreading around the globe.
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Uncovering the Hidden Costs of Unconventional Oil & Gas
Despite jitters in the financial markets, the Oil and Gas industry is riding high, with bullish projections for energy prices. The run up in demand means the push for unconventional oil and gas is strong. Companies are racing to develop sources requiring deepwater, oil sands, and shale gas drilling - encroaching on new territories and using techniques that carry high environmental and social risks.
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