Despite agreement on the value of gender diversity for companies, progress on that front has not been as rapid as it should be. We review the real-world impact of MSCI’s latest Women on Boards report findings, and what it may take to accelerate the pace.

How do funds stack up against the EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR)? We looked at the ESG characteristics of 207 funds of the top 15 equity and mixed-asset fund managers to see which had disclosed information about their funds.

Regulations to increase transparency and new methods for quantifying climate change risks and opportunities have pushed the issue to the fore for many investors. We get on the road to COP 26 with Professor Robert Eccles of The University of Oxford, Linda-Eling Lee, Head of ESG Research, and other MSCI experts.

Fickle weather patterns due to climate change and a global demand that outstrips supply have put one-fourth of the Earth’s population in areas of “extremely high” water stress. We found 122 equity funds that invest in companies providing a solution to the water crisis but far fewer are “pure” water plays.

When it comes to reducing greenhouse gases, investors tend to focus on fossil fuels and power generation. But other companies also need to adapt to a lower-carbon world. We look at the implications for five types of companies.

Nearly $31 trillion in assets under management were invested in funds that consider ESG issues in their investing process as of January 2018, a 34% increase from two years previously. Transparency is key to understanding what this expansion means.