Turn and face the change

Greenwashing, whereby an organisation presents a misleading view of its sustainability credentials, has become more widespread and sophisticated in recent years. Now regulators and investors are fighting back.

Companies cannot thrive without healthy and happy employees, consumers and communities. Investors must use their influence with companies and other stakeholders to ensure the basic rights of these groups are respected.

Value or growth? It is an age-old debate and, as Giles Parkinson argues, a slightly irrelevant one given the changing makeup of the economy and the gentle decoupling of intrinsic value from financial statements.

Some companies have long sought to mislead the public about their commitments to sustainability, but greenwashing has become more widespread and sophisticated in recent years. Now regulators and investors are fighting back.

During the pandemic, companies have stepped up investments in technology to communicate remotely with customers and keep their businesses running. As well as boosting efficiency and profitability, it also creating investment opportunities in previously overlooked areas.

ESG factors have long been viewed as risk factors to manage. Giles Parkinson explores the flipside of this proposition, contending that positive externalities are an under-leveraged investment opportunity.

In the first of a new monthly series, we take a visual approach to illustrate topical data themes in economies, markets and beyond. This month we look at the correlation between stock market performance and vaccinations, the illiquidity premium in real assets, and whether there are still more men called Dave running funds than female managers.

Massive intervention by central banks and governments in recent years has left investors struggling to value financial assets.

The coronavirus pandemic has spurred companies to upgrade their digital capabilities, boosting productivity and creating investment opportunities in previously overlooked niches.

China’s economic rise threatens US supremacy and the global economic and financial order built up since 1945.

More countries are contemplating their visions for a lower carbon world. Norway has excluded fossil fuels entirely for heating buildings, while others are taking a more nuanced approach. So, what are the options for those with environment at the heart of their agenda?

The inexorable rise in asset prices caused by the seemingly never-ending era of monetary easing is calling into question long-held investment beliefs, as members of our multi-asset & macro and equities teams explain.