ESG investing, and more specifically ‘E’ is likely to take center stage in Asia as climate impact is forecasted to hit the region the hardest. The COVID pandemic has heightened this awareness of ESG risks and subsequent flow of capital towards more responsible investments further. ESG Funds have since become a viable pathway for some social investors seeking to implement an ESG-oriented investment strategy.
However, beginners may find the ESG Funds landscape difficult to navigate. Firstly, there is not yet a standard ESG reporting framework, although there are early leaders in the more unified markets in Europe and the US. Asia has also yet to enforce disclosure in a region with varying maturity in corporate governance. This has resulted in the lack of standardized, transparent and comprehensive ESG data and benchmarks.
Asia’s sustainable development goals are also at a different stages of achievement. Millions still lack access to energy, modern sanitation and clean water. This means Asian asset managers and investors may decarbonize their portfolios at a different pace than their Western counterparts. However, this also creates opportunities to catalyze more investment into Asia’s ESG Funds who engage Asia’s diverse communities in its new, greener pathways.
Join us to hear the challenges and successes experienced by some of Asia’s ESG Fund pioneers, as well as their outlook on how the landscape may potentially evolve.
In this webinar, participants:
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- Learned about the types of funds that are suitable for ESG or impact investing strategies
- Understood the considerations when assessing and adopting ESG/sustainability frameworks across various fund possibilities
- Determined the best practices adopted in the launch of ESG funds in Asia
- Discovered about the ESG Improvement Scorecard for a live transaction – a Solar energy company in South India
