As the world is trickling back open, there has been a steady flow of ESG-related news (COVID and non-COVID related). Each month, we’ll continue sharing with you the articles that our team is reading. We hope you enjoy. – Ryan Miller
On ESG and Impact:
The Harvard Endowment has pledged to achieve net-zero carbon emissions in its investments by 2050 (Top 1000 Funds)
The Investor Advisory Committee of the SEC is pushing for an ESG disclosure framework in US markets (Responsible Investor coverage, SEC Report)
Hong Kong regulators are expanding their fund certification scheme, allowing funds to be labeled ‘ESG’ (Responsible Investor)
APG and New York City pension funds have directly engaged with Amazon, requesting reporting on employee safety (Responsible Investor)
Large asset managers now agree, ESG funds have outperformed their peers during the COVID-19 market correction (Bloomberg)
On Private Equity:
Bloomberg’s review of private equity investment in health care providers can be summed up in one quote: “You can’t serve two masters. You can’t serve patients and investors.” (Bloomberg)
Following J. Crew and Neiman Marcus filing for bankruptcy, the New York Times explores the negative impact that private equity firms may have had on those and other retail portfolio companies (New York Times)
As the impact of COVID-19 stretches onward, the private equity-fueled leveraged loan market appears to be increasingly in trouble (New Yorker)
GP-stakes investors have not been deterred by the ongoing public health crisis (Institutional Investor)
On Business:
Adapting diversity and inclusion efforts in the current pandemic requires expanding our conception of their role in customer communications and employee management (Harvard Business Review)