ESG

If some elements of our annual 2024 Annual Engagement and Voting Review sound familiar, that’s no coincidence. To maximize our impact, we focus on long-term core topics. Engagement and voting are central to our investment process, extending beyond the important responsibility of the investments we already hold.

Launched in autumn 2024, the Think Tank "2030, Investir Demain" was created at the initiative of L'Info Durable (ID) and L'Agefi media, with the ambition of uniting financial players around the major challenges of sustainable finance.

Is the Artificial Intelligence (AI) revolution unstoppable? With lightning speed, AI is reshaping industries, unlocking economic value, driving positive environmental impact, helping address social challenges – and additionally, offering compelling investment opportunities.

Impact investments have kept rising over the past decades, reaching $1.6 trillion USD according to the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) – that is $ 1.6 trillion USD in assets allocated toward solutions supporting the Sustainable Development Goals.

Learn how the private debt market is using ESG as a strategic lever to control risk and create value.

PFAS have been widely used for decades due to their unique properties in various domestic and industrial applications. They are resistant to water and virtually indestructible. They are also seen as the poison of the century. Where do we stand in terms of regulation? What are the PFAS-related risks? Where are the opportunities?

According to the Institute for Economics & Peace, there are 56 active conflicts in the world, the greatest number since the end of World War II. Increasingly complex geopolitics and ReArm Europe are keeping investors on our toes, analytically.

Have you heard about radiotheranostics? This new field in medicine combines diagnosis and therapy. It involves using specially designed radioactive compounds that can both identify cancer cells and deliver targeted radiation therapy to destroy them. This is one of the latest developments of precision medicine, a domain that offers fascinating prospects in both early detection and specific treatment.

Donald Trump’s re-election as president of the United States has sparked concerns about his potential impact on key sustainability topics, notably climate action.

China dominates the entire value chain for electric transport motors. The European Union has imposed provisional tariffs to protect its regional auto industry from ‘dumping’, or unfair pricing, of subsidized electric vehicle imports from China. Yet the EU is actively attempting to accelerate the uptake of EVs to meet its 2035 emissions targets.

Two years after the adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Agreement, the progress on global biodiversity goals remains mixed. Despite commitments, a limited number of countries (44 out of 196) have submitted their National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans. The parties have agreed to submit their plans as soon as possible, with a global review scheduled for COP17 and COP19.

Demographic shifts, from ageing populations to rising middle classes, present long-term, diversified investment opportunities, as these structural changes are reshaping the global economy.

Climate change may be the greatest threat to sustainability, but water vulnerability is potentially the most urgent, likely to play out in a shorter time frame.

The investment landscape is evolving against a backdrop of rising economic uncertainties and a cautious market environment, further complicated by geopolitical tensions and upcoming elections.

Kroum Sourov and Christopher Mey, portfolio managers of the sustainable emerging market debt strategy, describe the significance this type of analysis can have for a bond portfolio. They explain Candriam’s investment process, with our emphasis on relative value and risk management. This approach is intended to allow the strategy to adapt the ever-changing markets over the course of an economic cycle.

We promised you transparency. For a comprehensive discussion of our efforts and results, see our [annual] Net Zero Progress Report 2024. We frequently say that it is not just the carbon target, but the path to that target which affects the damage along the way. In this spirit, we share with you along the way our milestones for the four pillars of our Net Zero strategy.

Based on our long-standing views of the financial benefits of sustainability, we integrate some level of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) factor analysis across all our investment processes, and particularly for our sustainable investment strategies.

In a world grappling with escalating water issues, prioritizing water as a strategic business imperative has never been more critical. The operational and financial impacts of water-related risks have started materializing. Our conviction is that companies must consider and manage water as the long-term strategic and operational risk it can represent.

While investors are encouraged to consider climate change in their portfolios, to meet regulatory requirements and mitigate climate-related risks, a number of questions remain.

Bastien Dublanc, Tanguy Cornet and Anaelle Stamatiou, managers of Candriam’s water investment strategy, explain why they invest in this theme, how they select their stocks, and what differentiates Candriam from other investment managers in this area.

In an ever-evolving financial landscape dominated by data-driven decision-making and economic uncertainty, understanding the nuances of fixed income investing is paramount.

At Candriam, we are active owners and debtholders. We exercise our rights when we believe action can enhance long-term value for our clients and ultimate beneficiaries.

While these objectives are laudable, there are methodological obstacles. The initial objectives of Solvency II were harmonization, financial stability and policyholder protection. The text had therefore been conceived as a risk-based regulation, based on the valuation of the balance sheet on a mark-to-market basis and on capital requirements calibrated using Value at Risk (VaR) with a confidence level of 99.5%.

After a challenging period for green investing, marked by rising interest rates, supply chain issues, and overcapacity, companies committed to building a sustainable world could remain an attractive long-term option for investors seeking both financial returns and positive impact.

Despite constraints on both their human and financial capital, Small- and Mid-Sized companies (SMIDs) share similar business ambitions with their larger counterparts while competing for the same talent. They need talent to fuel their growth, yet that rapid growth can strain employees. Attracting and retaining talent, while simultaneously maintaining workforce productivity, poses a challenge.