ESG

There are several examples of emerging markets where corporate governance standards and ESG disclosure have evolved in recent years, among which China, India, South Korea, Taiwan…

In this month of pink October, we found important to take a look of the situation of breast cancer as well as advances and breakthroughs in research, and the financial environment for healthcare and oncology investment .

After 2022, which covered the end of a decade of monetary policy loosening, 2023 has been the year of the repricing of the whole interest rate curve. The end of Central Banks’ "higher for longer" mantra supported a steepening of the yield curves and repriced real interest rates which are back now in positive territory, for the first time in close to ten years.

One clear conclusion is that pension fund-related institutions which have not yet embraced ESG will find themselves suddenly launched two squares forward on the chessboard, as they rush to integrate ESG into the overall governance of how they manage or administer pension assets and plans.

In our 2022 Engagement report, we offered a case study describing how we begin a topical campaign.

At Candriam, we are both more active and more demanding in our engagement activities, an attitude shared by several other investors, mostly European.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has been yet another wake-up call for our need for energy independence. While Europe's reliance on Russian gas was evident, Russia is also one of the largest oil producers, exporting half of its production to Europe before February 2022.

Publicly-traded companises have begun to incorporate ESG performance metrics into their executives’ compensation packages as part of efforts to increase transparency on their accountability vis-à-vis shareholders.

If France relies on its nuclear power, it will not do what is necessary in terms of renewables, says the German side.

Our climate is changing faster and faster, bringing our world closer to disastrous social and economic consequences every year. We are reaching the tipping point on every planetary boundary, meaning that at the current pace, we will reach a point of no return in this decade, threatening the future of both our planet and mankind.

Bond investors did have a rough time in 2022. But a new era begun when central banks initiated their forced march of interest rates hikes, bringing some fresh opportunities to investors.

As the March drama unfolds, it might help us to remember the long road that banks have travelled, and the path ahead. Those paths are very different on either side of the Atlantic.

Investors who fail to consider biodiversity in their portfolios increase the global problem, in turn reducing the growth potential and increasing the risk to their own investments. These two connected systems chase each other in a downward spiral.

Grey swan is an event that is possible and known, potentially extremely significant but considered not very likely to happen.

Perhaps like us, you are a bit frightened about all the news stories and the statistics – the plastic ‘eighth continent’ in the Pacific Ocean, using our natural resources more rapidly than they can be replaced.

Facial Recognition Technologies are changing our lives. FRT enhances efficiency and security, helping us unlock high-end smartphones, or pass more rapidly through airports. But are there hidden costs to our human rights?

Our planet’s biodiversity – the variety of species of animals and plants – is collapsing. Given that about half of the global GDP is highly dependent on nature, the consequences can be grave.

Dull, boring, capital goods? Not at all! These companies are the next new thing in our Climate fight. As developers and providers of a wide range of components and automation products, capital goods companies develop the often un-seen products to reduce energy use and other sources of Greenhouse Gas emissions (GHGs).

25 years of experience in ESG, 25 years of experience in Emerging Markets Equities, and over 15 years of putting it all together. Doubling the Drivers of Performance : Historically, Emerging Markets have been the drivers of global growth. Times are changing - deglobalisation is the new trend – but EMs still are responsible for more than half of our global economic growth.

Every day we are reminded of the sweeping impact of climate change. As a responsible investor, we have a key role to play in financing the transition towards a low-carbon economy ….we have a role in financing a transition that takes place in a just and equal way … and we can help control climate change.

Candriam’s evaluation of its portfolios’ carbon footprint takes into account scopes 1 and 2 of the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of the different private issuers included in the SRI funds and their benchmark indices.

For many years, and with the gradual rise of ESG investing, investors have been excluding the defence sector from their investments due to the adverse nature of armaments which have often served to infringe human rights and led to devastating effects on human lives and the overall  well-being of society.

S&P recently removed Tesla from its ESG index, citing concerns around its lack of low carbon strategy and business conduct as well as involvement in controversial incidents. Specific issues around racial discrimination and poor working conditions at a Tesla factory were also cited.

ENGAGEMENT and VOTING play an important role in communicating our core values to the company in which we invest on behalf of our clients – promoting three conviction topics as priorities, namely : Energy transition, Fair working conditions, and Business ethics.

Lucia Meloni and Céline Deroux share their views about the changes we need to make in business and mindsets to reach a sustainable future.