Asset managers need to consider how they are demonstrating ‘good corporate responsibility’, have a clear definition of what ESG means to them and have an ESG team for internal monitoring, according to research carried out by Bonhill Intelligence, a sister department to Portfolio Adviser.
In a survey of carried out in Q4 2021 and compiled in the Competing in an ESG World report, UK and European fund buyers were asked what was most important when considering ESG at a fund group.
For the UK, 38% said it was ‘vital’ for fund groups to have ‘good corporate responsibility’ and 57% said it was ‘important’. For Europe, 15% said it was vital and almost half indicated important.
The second most important factor for UK fund selectors was having a clear definition of what ESG means to them with a combined 94% saying this was vital or important, while having an internal ESG team for monitoring came third.
UK fund selectors also want to see a sales force that is fully familiar with their ESG strategy and a centralised ESG policy across all funds.
In Europe, having a clear ESG definition was also vital or important for 92% of respondents, with the second priority being an internal ESG monitoring team (71% saying this was vital or important) and thirdly, having the ESG strategy in every fund explained in the factsheet, indicating the need for fund researchers to be able to look at each fund in isolation.
Less important considerations for UK and European fund buyers were the amount of AUM in ESG strategies, not having ‘vice’ funds, and exclusion policies.
For more on the research and to find out which companies ranked best for ESG integration see below.
Bonhill Intelligence’s Competing in an ESG World 2022 Edition for UK & Europe contains all the information fund managers need to know about what fund buyers want when it comes to responsible investing. The report covers insights into the usefulness of ESG ratings, ESG education and integration, fund buyer preferences, what is pushing the ESG agenda, how fund selectors are choosing funds for portfolios and the renowned ESG Clarity Brand Index, which ranks the top asset managers for ESG according to fund buyer preferences.
To purchase your copy please get in touch with sarah.stewart@bonhillplc.com
This article first appeared on our sister title ESG Clarity
