Responsible Investor

RI round-up June 20

RI’s bite-sized round-up of the week’s responsible investment news.

China Investment Corporation (CIC), the $200bn sovereign wealth fund, says it intends to operate as a responsible investor by favouring clean energy and environmentally friendly companies and screening out sectors such as gambling, tobacco and arms. The announcement was made Gao Xiqing, the fund’s president, accompanies recent statements that CIC’s investments are not politically motivated, following accusations be western governments. CIC has so far taken large stakes in financial services companies, including a $3bn pre-flotation stake in US private equity firm Blackstone in May 2007 and a $5bn purchase of 10% of Morgan Stanley, the US bank in December 2007. Between $80-$90bn of CIC’s funds are invested outside China.
The Robin Cosgrove prize which awards $20,000 to a winning paper on promoting ethics in finance and banking, particularly in emerging markets, is now open for submissions.
The competition is open to entrants under 35 years of age and is held in memory of Robin Cosgrove, an investment banker with an interest in ethics and finance, who died at 31 years of age. The 2006-7 prize was shared by Clare Payne of Macquarie Bank in Australia who wrote on the theme: “Ethics or bust: beyond compliance” and Jonathan Wisebrod of Villari in Singapore who wrote about “Social impact ratings”. The prize is supervised by the Geneva-based International Finance Observatory. Further details can be found at www.robincosgroveprize.org

A group of five property investment firms with assets of $250bn are devising an environmental rating system for property investments that will measure buildings on energy and water consumption alongside carbon emissions, transport links and health and safety. The Global Green Rating will be certified by Bureau Veritas, the inspection services company. Property fund managers behind the rating include ING Real Estate, General Electric Real Estate Europe and AXA REIM. The fund managers said forecasts from property analysts estimate that more energy efficient buildings could command a rental premium in the future.
What’s in a name? AQ Research, AXA Investment Managers and the Financial Times have launched a joint survey for investment professionals to attempt to bring some clarity to the often confusing terminology between socially responsible investment (SRI), environmental, social and governance investing (ESG) or social, environmental and ethical investment (SEE).
The survey seeks to understand why certain terms have taken off while others haven’t and to understand whether terminology is a barrier to the growth of responsible investment. Titled: “If it’s so important, how come we don’t agree on what to call it?”, the short survey is available at www.aqresearch.com/survey until July 14 and the results will be subsequently published in the Financial Times.
Global utilities stocks with the greenest credentials have outperformed the average by 0.5% since the start of 2006, according to figures compiled by Style

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