ESG
The ESG Phenomenon - Investors Fret Over Data Adequacy
Developments and commentary in and around the ESG investment space.
Capital Group
A lack of robust data about environmental, social and
governance-themed investments is holding back a large number of
people in Asia-Pacific from deploying money to the space, a new
survey by Capital
Group, a firm overseeing $2.6 trillion of assets, says.
A survey of 1,040 institutional and wholesale investors, including family offices, private banks and advisors, showed that 45 per cent of them are deterred by inadequate data. Almost half of APAC investors (46 per cent) agree that a lack of product innovation is holding back greater adoption of ESG.
However, the report suggests that more than half of respondents in Asia don’t see data as a barrier to investing.
Out of the global survey, some 29 per cent are based in Asia-Pacific across Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, South Korea and Australia.
More than a quarter of respondents in APAC (29 per cent) and globally (27 per cent) ranked the difficulty of accessing the information they need as the leading challenge to implementing ESG investments.
“It’s understandable that as ESG becomes more important to these investors, the desire to be rigorous in their assessment of ESG grows,” Jessica Ground, Capital Group’s global head of ESG, said.
When asked what would enhance their organisation's focus on sustainable investing, about four in 10 investors globally (43 per cent) said consistent reporting is the top driver for better ESG analysis and implementation.
