ESG investments initiative

ESG INVESTMENTS INITIATIVE

While the relevance of ESG (or sustainable) investments is not really for debate any longer, how best to develop and implement a successful ESG/sustainable investment strategy is less straight forward. We focus on two key moments in the investment process: (i) the identification of a sustainable investment opportunity, and (ii) the enhancement of investee companies' ESG profile.

IDENTIFICATION AND ASSESSMENT OF SUSTAINABLE INVESTMENTS

There are not shortcuts on the road to identify sustainable investments. No magic formulas. No lists of potential ESG investments to look at. Equally, there is not just one single definition of what a sustainable investment may be. In fact, ESG or sustainable investments means something different for each investor. The first step to identify sustainable investment opportunities is to understand what a sustainable investment looks like for you, for the investor.

Once you know what you are looking for, then how do you know if you have found it? There is a lot of talk about ESG integration (big word), making ESG factors an 'integral' part of the investment process, but what does it really mean? How is it done? There are different ways to assess an investment's ESG credentials:

ESG ratings - That is the easy shortcut, particularly for listed companies. Not unlikely credit ratings (and with some of the same limitations) there are a growing number of entities providing ESG ratings for (mostly) listed companies around the world.
ESG consultants - Yes, a fast growing universe of ESG consultants providing ESG reports (of varied quality) on target companies.
In-house ESG analysis - And finally in-house analysis, from tick-box exercises to the creation of expensive departments of ESG experts providing a sustainability assessment of target companies.

While, Rushmere does not provide ESG ratings, we have ESG experts that can help you by providing you with ESG assessment of a target, or can work with your team in-house to help you understand what your requirements are, and how potential investments targets meet those criteria. Help is just a click away!

INVESTEE COMPANY'S ESG ENHANCEMENT

Additionally, there is a growing demand from investors to improve the ESG credentials of their investment portfolio and the companies within. It could be part of their investment vision and mandate, it could be a way to help new investments meet certain minimum criteria as part of the 100 day plan, or it could simply relate to legacy investments predating the growing focus on sustainability.

Either way, we are here to help.