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How is the financial services industry dealing with the new sustainability standards?
Topics: Sustainable Finance
“From an investor and a regulatory perspective, the financial product ‘manufacturers’ and ‘distributors’ are confronted with a suite of rapidly changing standards and expectations. The EU has elevated sustainability to be a key goal in their political agenda.
Fundsquare, main data hub for Luxembourg domiciled funds, although not directly impacted by ESG, works with clients within the financial industry to support their transition to these new standards.
Our information and regulatory service offering is in direct compliance with evolving ESG guidelines, and we are currently enhancing our operations with the addition of new partnerships. The combination of Fundsquare’s data backbone and our partners’ value-added services present a near complete coverage of the entire fund life cycle. This privileged position allows us to properly apprehend to new ESG standards in data collection and dissemination to provide an enhanced client experience to our clients.”
“Bloomberg estimates that environmental, social and governance (ESG) assets could climb to more than a third of global assets by 2025. Europe currently accounts for approximately half of the ESG asset base, but 2020 saw a significant expansion in the US and in Asia, particularly Japan, and other south-east Asian countries could see the next wave of growth.
GAM placed sustainability at the heart of its corporate strategy in 2020. This has included strengthening governance as a firm and committing to publishing our first stand-alone Sustainability Report. We have also created a new Sustainability Committee, chaired by Stephanie Maier, Global Head of Sustainable and Impact Investment.
We are building a distinctive new range of sustainable products and strategies. Earlier this year we launched the Sustainable Local Emerging Bond Fund, and further products are already in the pipeline.”
“The ESG wave has also arrived at the fund industry. Indeed, this is a crucial factor Investment Managers need to take into account for future developments – in the overall European market and especially in Luxembourg and Spain.
While Investment Managers are still deciding whether to consider ESG or not, retail and institutional investors have made their position clear: They are strongly in favor of ESG and are already placing it at the forefront of their decision to invest in a fund.
Public Administrations are also taking a leading role on ESG, as it could be evidenced in the incentive provided to Luxemburgish funds that consider ESG in the form of a lower taxation implemented by the local regulator. Given this demand, ADEPA has built a dedicated team to help clients navigate the world of ESG and position for the future.”
Borja Sancho
Head of Spain Branch, ADEPA Global Services Group
“The new regulations have not brought any radical change in the Lombard International Assurance’s policies, which already considered sustainable criteria in its operations.
However, they have stimulated the implementation of internal procedures for the promotion of investments that meet these criteria, providing transparent information in this regard and monitoring compliance.
Soon we will also see the impact of these criteria reflected in a more attractive product offer that will exclude, for example, the possibility of investing in potentially “harmful” assets and allow us to design together with our partners unit-linked products “that invest in sustainability”.
This implies an effort today that will surely bear fruit: achieving a more sustainable wealth management, prioritising long-term value creation and the benefit of society as a whole.”
Marta García Cortés
Wealth Planner Spain and Portugal, Lombard International Assurance