Dr Andy Sloan, Deputy Chief Executive, Strategy, at Guernsey Finance and the Chair of Guernsey Green Finance, outlines the island’s approach towards ESG and making sustainability understandable.

Dr Andy Sloan, Deputy Chief Executive, Strategy, at Guernsey Finance and the Chair of Guernsey Green Finance, outlines the island’s approach towards ESG and making sustainability understandable.
Much has been made of the need for responsible investment to climb up the corporate agenda – and rightly so, says David Russell, head of responsible investment at the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS).
The investment case for water can be hard to understand – or can even arouse ill feeling, writes Fiona Rintoul.
Johan Florén, head of communications and ESG at Swedish pension fund AP7, discusses collaboration between asset owners to address systemic challenges, setting and achieving realistic ESG policy goals and contributing to sustainability in real terms.
Private funds and ESG have long been considered by some as incongruous, if not outright incompatible. However, under growing pressure from institutional investors and regulators, and as evidence for the link between financial performance and ESG factors grows, private markets are taking notice.
Closures of European ETF funds are at their highest level since 2000 when the industry began.
A newly launched fund range from Aviva Investors will bring low-cost sustainable investments to the public, something that has not always been possible, the firm said.
An uneven global economic recovery vulnerable to increasing Covid-19 cases is said to be a primary factor behind the asset management industry’s negative outlook for the coming year.
Covid-19 is predicted to cause a sea-change for pension fund investing, mainly in the area of private markets and ESG.
Following a sluggish 2019 that saw the world economy grow by 2.9% year-over-year – its lowest growth rate for ten years – the Covid-19 pandemic triggered further contraction in Q1 2020 as travel restrictions and the closure of factories, education and retail outlets applied a handbrake to trade and investment.