The recent surge in ESG investment capital inflows has seen total sustainable AUM approach $40 trillion, making up around a third of all equity investments globally. While definitions as to the shade of green reflected by these fund-flows may vary, it is clear that ESG money continues to be the fastest growing and most influential capital on the planet. The pace of this growth has been mirrored and matched by a sharp increase in the need by company management and Investor Relations for better data around their own share register and specific interest in ways to track, benchmark and target these critical capital flows. As a result, Investor Update’s proprietary ESG Investor Benchmarking has been in high demand with significant appointments by many of Europe’s largest companies over the last year across multiple sectors.
CFOs, CSOs and IR teams are expressing their frustration with the 3rd Party Ratings Agencies whose output falls short of the real-time, accurate and commercially relevant data and insight that Investor Update can provide – and increasing numbers of investors conduct their own in-house ESG research rather than relying on external providers. Our ESG Investor Benchmarking tracks the level of ESG-focused investment in your equity, to highlight where you stand with leadership ESG capital vs peers – many clients monitor the data quarterly or semi-annually – as well as being a targeting tool for ESG funds invested in your peers but underweight/absent you (both active and passive). Furthermore, the ESG Data Visualisation returns the control of the data, parameters and targeting criteria into the hands of management and IR teams to enhance their interaction with the buy-side and improve resource allocation within the business.
Demand for this analysis is accelerating as a means to define opportunity and diagnose the shortcomings of a company’s ESG strategy, and the step from diagnosis to cure is bridged by Investor Update’s ESG Advisory practice. This dedicated consulting team, led by Andrew Archer and building on its thought-leadership research, has pioneered a distinctive evidence-based approach to identify and emulate best-practice in the field of sustainability. As Andrew puts it: “In a nascent industry the notion of best practice is elusive and yet it is critical to ensure ESG strategic engagement is directed with efficiency and sustainability, in every sense of the word.”
Contact your Investor Update contact or Andrew Archer at aarcher@investor-update.com for more details on how to advance the value and impact of your ESG capability.
