US Financial investment Consultants Type Joint Doing the job Group to Progress Sustainable Investing

BOSTON & CHICAGO & NEW YORK & SAN FRANCISCO & ST. LOUIS–(Organization WIRE)–Fourteen institutional investment decision consulting firms in the US, with all over the world property under advisement totaling a lot more than USD 33 trillion (as noted by every member firm to ICSWG-US as of 4/30/2021), have recognized the Financial investment Consultants Sustainability Operating Group – US (ICSWG-US). The intention of this cooperative is to promote and increase sustainable financial investment techniques throughout the investment marketplace.

Sarah Bernstein, Running Principal, Expert and Co-head of the ESG Investing Committee at Meketa Investment Team states: “Meketa initiated the ICSWG-US group, influenced by our friends in the United kingdom, to much better guidance our shoppers in addressing the essential sustainability financial investment difficulties of our occasions. We welcome the option to collaborate with our peers to inspire and progress sustainable investment methods, transparency and regularity to create lengthy-term investment returns, via the collective voice of the institutional investment decision consulting group.”

For numerous, 2020 proved to be an inflection level for sustainable investing and environmental, social and governance (ESG) difficulties. Desire in weather improve, variety, equity and inclusion and other ESG challenges is at an all-time substantial amongst US buyers. Presented the power of expenditure and finance to influence sustainability difficulties now and in the foreseeable future, we consider collaboration to advertise sustainability will accelerate and initiate higher adjust in the sector.

The ICSWG-US aspires to:

• Interact across a broad variety of stakeholders, together with asset proprietors, asset supervisors and regulators
• Seek financial investment outcomes that are truly sustainable and not a tick-the-box physical exercise
• Align with and aid current sector bodies and initiatives
• Aid purchasers who deficiency the assets to interact specifically with field initiatives
• Make a guiding established of concepts that discover excellent apply with useful tips and
• Be a entire body the place regulators, policymakers and other stakeholders can seek out enter when they will need a look at from investment decision consultants.

The team has originally recognized 3 person workstreams it deems vital to sustainability: Reporting, Stewardship and Regulation.

ICSWG-US acknowledges that sustainability endeavours are ongoing at a number of field organizations, and internal initiatives carry on at every of the 14 member companies. The team will go on to help those people initiatives. ICSWG-US believes that collaboration among the its stakeholders will more empower asset homeowners and guide to better sustainable expense procedures across the investment decision sector.

All customers of the ICSWG-US give financial commitment consultancy to US asset owners. Though some of the firms’ actions extend to other providers, customers or jurisdictions, these will drop outside of the group’s scope. Member firms will just take suitable measures to keep away from any conflicts of curiosity amongst the group’s work and these other routines and will make certain that the group’s routines are performed in accordance with all applicable rules.

Founding users of the Investment Consultants Sustainability Working Team – US are:

ACG

Aon Hewitt Expense Consulting

Callan

Cambridge Associates

Marquette Associates

Meketa Investment decision Team

Mercer

NEPC

RVK

Segal Marco Advisors

SEI

Willis Towers Watson

Wilshire

Verus Investments

Phineas Troy, Vice President, Senior Guide at ACG claims: “ACG is happy to be part of the ICSWG-US to advance initiatives around larger sustainable and inclusive investing consciousness and accountability in the course of our marketplace. ACG is inspired by the impact and impression we can make by collaborating with our peers to travel development in the region of sustainable and inclusive investing, for the gain of our purchasers and traders globally.”

Meredith Jones, World wide Head of ESG at Aon claims: “Institutional buyers are significantly anxious about the very long-phrase sustainability of their expense portfolios. On the other hand, in the absence of unified reporting regimes, regulatory guidelines or even terminology, quite a few continue on to battle with ESG integration and climate alter positioning. Even though there is no 1-measurement-fits-all solution to sustainability, a additional unified and reliable framework all over sustainability would be a must have to traders, and we hope that Aon, performing specifically with our shoppers and with ICSWG-US users, will be in a position to make a important contribution to that framework.”

Tom Shingler, Senior Vice President and Leader of the ESG crew at Callan says: “With Callan at the forefront of ESG investigate and instruction, we are thrilled to be element of this performing group of our friends to provide even more transparency and insights to the quickly changing ESG landscape. There is rising desire from institutional buyers to include economically content ESG elements into their expenditure procedures, and we believe that the go toward extra ESG incorporation is regular with a extensive-phrase financial investment strategy.”

Liqian Ma, Head of Sustainable and Effects Investing at Cambridge Associates states: “For nearly 20 a long time Cambridge Associates has employed a wide variety of sustainable and impact investing techniques, trying to get to finance long-term, market-driven answers to environmental and social worries without having creating concessions on returns. We welcome the opportunity to continue this function by collaborating with peers to establish industrywide very best methods. We are inspired by the doing work group’s commitment to building resilient portfolios in the confront of immense and systemic problems, these types of as social inequality and local weather improve.”

Nichole Roman-Bhatty, Managing Lover, Founder and Co-Direct Sustainable Investment decision Group at Marquette Associates claims: “As we’ve viewed expansion from both the desire for variety and inclusion in the financial investment business as well as the variety of sustainable investing alternatives in the current market, this new consultant initiative lends an essential voice for defining most effective procedures. The specialist group is uniquely positioned to marry trader curiosity with sector feasibility, generating this collective effort important to producing standardization all-around reporting and in the long run giving a improved framework to making thriving, sustainable investment decision portfolios.”

Dave Fanger, US Head of Accountable Financial investment at Mercer states: “Sustainability proceeds to be a main expenditure perception at Mercer. As we guidance buyers in placing their net zero emissions target with our Analytics for Climate Changeover solution and pioneering climate state of affairs assessment, Mercer is joining this collective sustainability voice of the consulting marketplace in the US, as we did in the United kingdom, to aid customers create investment returns in a way that is sustainable and offers thing to consider to all stakeholders.”

Dulari Pancholi, CFA, CAIA, Principal and Director of Credit rating and Multi-Asset at NEPC states: “NEPC thinks that sustainability, effect investing, and ESG integration all have a job in the upcoming of investing and portfolio development. For extra than 30 decades, we have worked closely with our purchasers to align their economical aims with their organizational missions and we understand the transforming will need to integrate these features in the choice creating approach. As such, we are thrilled to be a component of ICSWG-US and seem forward to collaborating with peers in this initiative to develop out best techniques, increase schooling, standardization and transparency.”

Maureen O’Brien, Vice President, Company Governance Director and Chair of the ESG Committee at Segal Marco Advisors claims: “Segal Marco thinks environmental, social and governance things assistance traders attain insight into which investments are sustainable in excess of the extensive-time period. We are pleased to lover with our friends in the industry to jointly deal with challenges to ESG implementation. The ICSWG-US will allow the consulting neighborhood to share our prevalent views with regulators, lawmakers, asset professionals and asset homeowners.”

Jana Holt, World Director of Sustainable Investing Alternatives at SEI says: “We welcome increased collaboration with our colleagues throughout the business, as shared insights and goals can speed up the adoption of sustainable investing policies and tactics that benefit buyers of all sizes, particularly those people served by our Institutional enterprise. By doing the job jointly as a result of the ICSWG-US, we goal to help the development of significant greatest procedures and sensible assistance that can aid buyers take care of hazards and get benefit of the possibilities introduced by sustainability megatrends.”

Daniel Ingram, Sr. Vice President, Wilshire Associates states: “Wilshire embraces this well timed opportunity to collaborate with friends on sustainable financial investment tactics by means of ICSWG-US and is committed to increasing on the perform we have finished for many years supplying tailor-made ESG investment remedies to our clients. We imagine insights shared via this field-large initiative will notify and enrich our do the job likely ahead, paving the way for extra sustainable investment decision procedures for all traders.”

Christopher Thompson, CFA, Director, Investments, Willis Towers Watson says: “Willis Towers Watson is enthusiastic to be a part of the ICWSG-US. Its mission of bettering sustainable financial investment methods is a vital difficulty, and we are thrilled to collaborate with our peers in the marketplace.”

The viewpoints expressed by every single of the associates are the viewpoints of that member and must not be attributed to the other individuals or the entity.

About ICSWG-US (www.ICSWG-US.org)

The Expenditure Consultants Sustainable Doing work Group – United States (ICSWG-US) is a collaboration among expenditure consulting companies to engage with its collective stakeholders, and empower asset house owners and their final beneficiaries to advance sustainable investment procedures across the expense marketplace.

The ICSWG-US aims to aid sustainable financial investment procedures throughout institutional asset house owners and asset supervisors. As a result of this hard work, ICSWG-US users will request to provide views from the consultant group and be a useful resource on activities these kinds of as standardization of environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) integration and local weather-connected reporting, rules, and improvements. Overall, the group will strive for an equitable and educated path toward real sustainable institutional investing.