Global State of ESG: Forging Ahead Amidst Heightened Regulatory Scrutiny and Investor Skepticism
May 16, 2023
What you need to know about the state of ESG investing globally.
Asset owners and managers remain focused on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives even as two valid challenges—“greenwashing” and investors’ negative perceptions of ESG fund performance—loom. To mitigate these challenges, regulatory guidance is needed to better define what constitutes sustainability in an investment fund, and firms will need to level set expectations for ESG investments to curb investor cynicism.
Key Highlights
Defining ESG
ESG is a nebulous concept that defies any simple description. Cerulli breaks down ESG into three key objectives—values alignment, value enhancement/risk mitigation, and positive impact/thematic investing.
Regulatory Efforts
Governmental bodies around the globe have stepped up their efforts to mitigate greenwashing. Outside of Europe, enforcement of greenwashing remains in a more nascent phase, although Cerulli observes noteworthy progress.
Product Positioning
Investor skepticism of ESG investing continues to be a major challenge, yet asset managers are forging ahead with product development, sales, and marketing of ESG products.
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Report Authors
David Fletcher
Director
Bio →
David Fletcher
Director
Dave oversees the editorial production process for The Cerulli Report series and The Cerulli Edges and contributes articles to the U.S. and Global Edge publications. He also supports Cerulli’s marketing and design team, including writing and editing white papers, reviewing press releases, website copy, social media, videos, and promotional media.
Prior to joining Cerulli, Dave produced and edited content for a variety of websites, publishing companies, and media developers.
Full biography here.
Michele Giuditta, CFA
Director
Bio →
Michele Giuditta, CFA
Director
Michele is a director of the Institutional practice and leads research for annual reports and strategic consulting engagements. She specializes in environmental, social, and governance investing and outsourced CIO research.
Prior to joining Cerulli Associates, Michele worked at Cambridge Associates as an Associate Director in the Client Relationship Management Group. Additionally, she worked at Manulife Asset Management in the Institutional Investment Sales & Services Group, and held roles in Product Management and Client Relationship Management. She began her career as an analyst in the Investment Policy & Research Group at John Hancock.
Full biography here.
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