Wizz Air chief executive calls carbon offsetting “a bit of a joke” October 12, 2021 Wizz Air’s chief executive Jozsef Varadi has branded carbon offsetting as “a bit of a joke”, despite offering the scheme as part of the airline’s sustainability programme. As reported by Euronews, while speaking in Milan at industry conference World Routes, Varadi called carbon offsetting “greenwashing”. When pressed by Euronews Green on why the company was offering [...]
BHP braces for backlash by investors over climate plan September 28, 2021 Shareholders in mining giant BHP have been advised to vote against the company’s carbon emission plans, ahead of its annual general meeting in London next month, according to reports. In a report shared with investors Glass Lewis, the influential proxy adviser, questioned the scientific basis of BHP’s Climate Transition Action Plan and said there was [...]
Socially responsible investing and performance: a long-term winner September 14, 2021 | City Talk Companies with stronger ESG ratings outperform, particularly in times of crisis, as we witnessed during 2020, says Coline Pavot, La Financière de l’Echiquier (LFDE)’s head of responsible investment research. Companies that rank well according to environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria tend to outperform the average and have greater resistance to crises. This was confirmed [...]
Exclusive: Real estate and crypto top list of UK investors’ alternative asset picks September 9, 2021 In the current climate of low interest rates and high valuations, UK investors are looking for new ways to get returns in less liquid areas that are relatively cushioned from yo-yoing equity and bond markets. This mood music has pushed almost half (43 per cent) of UK investors to consider alternative assets to make their [...]
Bottom-up ESG: New platform wants to give retail investor army voting power for £1 September 9, 2021 Tulipshare is targeting the next generation of shareholders by tapping into their booming interest in retail investment and demand for a corporate ESG overhaul. The new UK-based activist investment platform wants to enable individuals to “vote with their money” for change from the inside at Amazon, Coca-Cola and Apple by investing as little as £1. [...]
UK active funds outsprint passive rivals amid market flux September 7, 2021 Active fund managers outperformed index trackers for nine out of the last ten months, as British investors put their faith in a human touch to navigate volatile markets and ever-popular ESG investments. UK equity funds managed by stock pickers saw inflows rise to £1.3bn in August, staving off the threat of passive trackers, who raked [...]
Foresight targets £200m sustainable forestry company IPO September 6, 2021 London-listed sustainable investment manager Foresight has announced it is branching out with an IPO of a new fund that will invest solely in UK forestry assets. Incorporated only a week ago, Foresight Sustainable Forestry Company will list on London’s main market with a fundraising target of up to £200m, at a price of 100 pence [...]
Dozens of UK’s biggest investment houses fall short of new ESG standard September 6, 2021 Some of the UK’s biggest names in investment have failed to meet a new ESG standard for investing for savers and pensioners, including Schroders, Morgan Stanley and Rothschild. In a new list published by The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) today, asset managers, pension schemes and insurers who successfully met a revised UK stewardship code were [...]
Housebuilder Vistry ties bosses pay to carbon cutting efforts September 3, 2021 Housebuilder Vistry has confirmed it will link its executives pay to sustainability targets from next year onwards, amid the UK’s push for net zero. The new practice appears a tangible effort to make the carbon-heavy construction and housebuilding sector more sustainable, ahead of the UN’s flagship climate conference COP26 in November. While bosses have been [...]
Benchmarking has become circular August 31, 2021 | City Talk Time and again throughout my career I have ranted about the nonsense of benchmarking in all its forms. By now I have given up on the hope that business and investing will ever leave the practice behind, so I don’t expect this post to change anything except to make me feel better. I spoke recently [...]