Why bond funds just had their best month in five years August 20, 2024 Bond funds just recorded their highest monthly inflows in the last five years, as investors flocked to the safe havens in anticipation of the market crash in August. European investors poured €32.3n (£37bn) into fixed income funds during July, data from Morningstar revealed. “This surge reflects a strong appetite for fixed-income strategies amidst varied global [...]
Blackbaud: CSR and ESG has evolved with focus on authentic impact August 20, 2024 City A.M. sat down with Andrew J. Troup, the director of corporate giving and engagement strategy at Blackbaud, to find out what he anticipates the future of social impact will look like.
JLEN Environmental Assets sells off £68m in assets to pay debts and launch share buyback August 15, 2024 JLEN Environmental Assets Trust has sold off half of its anaerobic digestion portfolio to Future Biogas for £68.1m. The trust, which invests in environmental infrastructure assets, sold the facilities at their June valuation. After the deal, it will continue to own the other 49 per cent of its anaerobic digestion portfolio. Future Biogas is a [...]
Meet the fund managers: ESG investing across the globe August 12, 2024 In this new weekly series, investment reporter Elliot Gulliver-Needham sits down with a fund manager for a Q&A. This week, we’re hearing from Geir Lode, lead portfolio manager on the Federated Hermes Global Equity ESG fund. How does your fund stand out from others in the same market? As a firm and as a team [...]
Net zero depends on economic growth – so the City must lead the charge August 12, 2024 Sustainability and economic growth are two sides of the same coin, which is why the City must lead the charge to net zero, writes Chris Hayward In 100 days, global political, business, and climate leaders will have gathered in Baku, Azerbaijan, for COP29. The annual COP meeting is the culmination of a year of hard [...]
The Debate: Should B Corps cut ties with fossil fuel companies? July 25, 2024 City A.M.’s weekly feature takes the fiercest water-cooler debates and pits two candidates head to head before delivering The Judge’s ultimate verdict. The Debate: Should B Corps cut ties with fossil fuel companies? Is it delusional to pretend that fossil fuel companies meet the B Corp standards, or is it unrealistic to shun companies like [...]
Is America’s ‘woke backlash’ a warning? July 22, 2024 With Microsoft scrapping a DEI team and Elon Musk moving to Texas, is the tide turning on the ‘woke’ agenda – and should businesses pay attention? Asks Eliot Wilson When America sneezes, Britain catches a cold. It is an idea that became popular after the Wall Street Crash of 1929, when the fall in New [...]
Havas London stripped of B Corp status after Shell investigation July 18, 2024 Top advertising agency Havas London has been stripped of its B Corp status after an official investigation found the work its sister agency does with Shell was a "breach of the B Corp community's values".
Blackrock needs to ‘face up’ to role in promoting ‘dangerous ESG placebo’, ex green investment chief argues July 14, 2024 Writing in City A.M. over the weekend, Fancy, who was formerly chief sustainable investment officer at Blackrock criticised Larry Fink for his "vacuous promises" on ESG.
Blackrock must face up to its failures on ESG July 13, 2024 With multi-billion dollar greenwashing scandals unfolding across America, the ESG industry is facing a severe reckoning, says Blackrock’s former chief sustainable investment officer Tariq Fancy On April 18, this newspaper published an interview I gave entitled “ESG is dying – but that might be a good thing.” It traced market events since I began arguing [...]