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On this page we include a selection of news, published articles and
studies related to onValues' work. We welcome your feedback at
info <AT> onvalues.ch.
News:
9 August 2010
onValues facilitates investor meetings on shareholder engagement, climate
change risks and opportunities, commodities investments
In the coming months, onValues will facilitate a series of meetings at which institutional investors will address emerging issues relevant to their investment management and active ownership strategies:
On 26 August 2010, on behalf of the Swedish Mistra Foundation, onValues will convene a meeting of Scandinavian and international investors focussing on the latest insights in the field of shareholder engagement.
On 28 September 2010, onValues will moderate the plenary panel discussion of the 11th International Sustainability Leadership Symposium in Zurich focussing this year on ‹Financing the Transformation to a Low-Carbon Economy›.
On 6 October 2010, in the context of the annual meeting of the UN Principles for Responsible Investment initiative in San Francisco, onValues will facilitate a session on ‹Responsible investments in commodities› that will discuss the challenges and opportunities of this emerging asset class.
18 May 2010
Multi-year project on commodities investments launched
In collaboration with the UN Principles for Responsible Investment secretariat, the UN Global Compact and the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, onValues has started a project aimed at assessing environmental, social and governance issues related to this growing investment field and at developing a series of practical recommendations for responsible investors. The project will look at commodities exposure across different asset classes, including direct investments in commodities futures and indirect exposure through equity and real asset holdings (e.g. forest and agricultural land). In a first phase, leading asset owners, asset managers, commodity traders and producers, governmental organisations and NGOs are being interviewed in view of understanding their approach to commodities investments.
11 March 2010
Sustainable investments in Switzerland rebound strongly in 2009, reaching a new
all-time high
onValues today published the results of the regular survey of the Swiss sustainable investment market per end of December 2009, which includes sustainable assets managed in Switzerland through funds, mandates and structured products. A total of 19 managers reported their assets under management in a range of different sustainable investment styles.
After the decline experienced in 2008 due to the financial crisis, the Swiss sustainable investment market has in 2009 returned to the strong growth pattern observed in previous years. Per end of 2009 the sustainable market had reached and surpassed again the peak volume experienced before the financial crisis. The size of the sustainable market per end of 2009 was 34.1 billion CHF (funds, mandates, structured products), which corresponds to an increase of 63.4% compared to the same value per end of December 2008. If we take sustainable funds only, the assets increased by 54.4%. In comparison, the Swiss fund provider assets under management for comparable fund categories increased by 12.2% in the period December 2008 to December 2009.
Sustainable funds experienced a considerably higher cash inflow than the market average in 2009. Net asset inflow in sustainable funds was approximately 22.9%, compared to 4.5% experienced by the average Swiss fund provider in 2009. Funds account for approximately 55%, mandates for 40% and structured products for 5% of the total sustainable investment market volume, with only small changes in the relative share compared to the previous year. Retail / private banking investors have further expanded their majority position in the market (55.4% of the total market, compared to the 44.6% of institutional investors). Equity with its share of 61.5% remains the most important asset class in the sustainable market, having somewhat reduced its market share in favour of fixed income investments compared to last year.
>> Download the report: «Sustainable investments in Switzerland 2009» ( pdf, 440 kB)
14 January 2010
Leading Swiss business newspaper highlights potential conflicts of interest of certain investment consulting practices
The ‹Neue Zuercher Zeitung› has today published a critical assessment of certain trends and practices observed in the investment consulting world. In particular, the newspaper criticises the lack of transparency and potential conflicts of interests related to investment consultancies offering own asset management services and products or recommending those of «preferred partner» banks. It is worthwhile in this context highlighting the characteristics that make onValues a truly independent investment consultancy: a) the company is fully management owned, b) it does not offer own investment products, c) it does not accept any kind of retrocession or hidden fee (such as database fees) from asset management institutions, d) it excludes «preferred partner» relationships with any asset management institution.
>> View the NZZ article (German only):  «Pensionskassenberatung im Interessenskonflikt»
9 December 2009
Eurosif study assesses role of consultants in the responsible investment field
The European Social Investment Forum has recently released a report that provides an overview of the growing role of investment consultants in supporting asset owners define and implement responsible investment (RI) strategies. The study shows that service development relating to RI is a recent phenomenon amongst investment consultants but growing quickly. It highlights the role played by boutique consultancy firms that are focused completely on RI advice, as opposed to larger consultancies that only recently have started to look into the area, RI advice being only a small part of their business. onValues, one of the oldest fully dedicated consulting firms in this space, is portrayed in a separate case-study in the report. A similar report has been released for North America by the US Social Investment Forum.
>> Download the report: «Eurosif 2009 Study» ( pdf, 1.3 mb,> zip, 1.1 mb, please
> > allow time to download)
16 October 2009
Fundamental shift in ESG
In a recent article, ‹Investments & Pensions Europe› assesses current trends in the Swiss institutional investment market with regard to the integration of environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria. The article is based on an interview with Ivo Knoepfel, managing director of onValues.
>> Download a copy of the article: «Fundamental shift in ESG» ( pdf, 365 kB)
7 September 2009
Report on European pension funds’ investments in microfinance released
Recent investments by APG, PGGM and TIAA-CREF, among others, have put microfinance investments on the radar screen of pension funds looking for innovative ways to further diversify their portfolio. But a lot of questions remain about the viability of these investments, their long-term risk and return profile, and the capability of the microfinance market to absorb growing pension fund investments. To understand how leading European pension funds already invested or considering investing in microfinance assess the current state and future prospects of microfinance, onValues interviewed pension funds from seven European countries on behalf of the World Microfinance Forum Geneva. The report summarising results from the survey was released today in Geneva.
>> Download the report: «Ends meet - Current state and future prospects of European
> > pension funds’ investments in microfinance» ( pdf, 760 kB)
13 July 2009
Building better long-term investment relationships – a Mistra workshop
Increasing numbers of institutional investors are going on record to state that they believe that ESG issues will have a material impact on their financial performance. However, some believe that the way asset owners are structured, including their internal governance and how they measure and pay external asset managers, may be obstacles to truly long-term behaviour.
In June 2009 onValues facilitated a workshop for investment professionals and academics on this very topic on behalf of Mistra, The Foundation for Strategic Environmental Research. The workshop addressed the challenges of the asset owner-manager relationship in two stages:
1. Understanding how investors take decisions, how they are influenced by prevailing beliefs, and which behavioural biases are most dangerous for the long-term investor; 2. Presenting and refining better long-term models for the asset owner-manager relationship
Workshop participants expressed strong opinions on the changes needed to encourage long-term investment behaviour, including:
• Measuring asset managers' financial performance over rolling periods
of at least three years
• Putting a greater emphasis on the manager selection process: asset owners
should spend more time evaluating the quality of processes and people at
the asset manager using transparent, systematic criteria
• Above all, the owner needs to give his managers the feeling that they are
trusted: the ‹climate of fear› often found in institutional asset managers is
highly damaging to long-term investment
The detailed conclusions of the workshop can be found in the report below.
>> Download the workshop report: «Winning the long-term game – new insights
>> into asset owners' behaviour and their interactions with asset managers»
>> ( pdf, 345 kB)
4 June 2009
Report assesses financial crisis impacts on the investment industry's consideration of ESG and climate-related issues
In collaboration with the German NGO Germanwatch, onValues this week published a report that assesses the observed and expected impacts of the current financial crisis on the financial industry’s efforts to integrate ESG and climate change-related issues in investment decisions. The report was distributed at this week’s Bonn climate change talks. Over the short term the authors expect set-backs in the industry’s efforts in this area. These set-backs will be particularly pronounced if the crisis persists for a longer time period, i.e. if financial markets do not stabilise by the end of 2009. The Copenhagen Climate Conference in December 2009, in combination with an ongoing financial crisis, could become the ‹make or break› tipping point for the market’s continued efforts to integrate ESG and climate issues, at least for the short- to mid-term. The mid- to long-term prospects for integration, on the other hand, are seen as positive given a series of strong underlying trends, among others the change in attitude of the US market and the increasing manifestation of the financial implications of environmental and climate change impacts.
>> Download the report: «Observed and expected impacts of the current financial
>> crisis […]» ( pdf, 175 kB)
9 April 2009
Mistra publishes a summary of its 2008 review of external asset managers
Mistra, The Foundation for Strategic Environmental Research, has published a summary of its 2008 review of external asset managers. The review, which was carried out by onValues on behalf of Mistra, investigated the steps forward taken by Mistra's asset managers in their integration of ESG issues into investment decision-making and active ownership. Following the review detailed feedback was presented to Mistra's investment committee, and constructive criticism shared with the asset managers. The public summary (downloadable below) summarises the key findings as a measure of transparency and accountability to Mistra's stakeholders.
The 2008 review, the fourth of its kind, observed that in most cases the ESG component had a positive or no effect on financial return, with risk levels that were in line with the reference portfolio chosen by the manager. The strong showing of Mistra's managers on active ownership was also notable, with 66% of the managers receiving the top rating for engagement with companies on ESG and broader strategic issues.
Mistra's endowment, which is currently valued at SEK 2.8 billion (US$ 350 million), is invested through eleven mandates and funds managed by eight different asset managers. All the investment management agreements explicitly require the manager to take account of environmental, social and governance issues.
>> Download the «Public summary report» ( pdf, 150 kB)
13 March 2009
Sustainable investments in Switzerland contract in 2008, but show more resilience
than the whole market
onValues today released results of the latest survey of the Swiss sustainable investment market. The report shows that, due to the financial crisis, the strong growth trend experienced by the sustainable investment market in the past years has been stopped and for the first time since inception of the survey the market has contracted considerably. The size of the sustainable market per end of 2008 was 20.9 billion CHF (funds, mandates, structured products), which corresponds to a decrease of 38.7% compared to the same value per end of December 2007. If we take sustainable funds only, the assets decreased by 35.3%. In comparison, the Swiss fund provider assets under management for comparable fund categories decreased by 40.2% in the period Dec. 2007 to Dec. 2008.
The asset inflow in existing and new sustainable funds in 2008 (especially in lower-risk broadly diversified equity, strategy and fixed-income funds) more than compensated the outflow (especially pronounced for some higher-risk theme funds).This resulted in a net asset inflow in sustainable funds of approximately 8.5%, compared to a net outflow of 6.4% experienced by the average Swiss fund provider in 2008. In relative terms, the net inflow experienced by microfinance and fixed-income/strategy funds was particularly marked.
>> Download Report: «Sustainable investments in Switzerland 2008» ( pdf, 200 kB)
28 January 2009
Future proof? Recommendations to improve the inclusion of ESG issues in
investment markets presented at the WEF Annual Meeting
Today the final report of the Who Cares Wins Initiative, entitled ‹Future proof? Embedding environmental, social and governance issues in investment markets›, was launched at the
World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland.
The report contains a detailed assessment of the industry's progress in the field and a series
of strategic recommendations to advance the integration of ESG issues into mainstream investment decision-making and ownership practices. The report was authored by onValues
and sponsored by IFC, the UN Global Compact and the Swiss Government. It builds on more
than four years of engaged discussions among industry practitioners that took place under
the Who Cares Wins umbrella.
>> Download Report: «Future Proof? Embedding environmental, social and governance
>> issues in investment markets» ( pdf, 1.2 mB)
4 December 2008
The Enhanced Analytics Initiative (EAI) publishes its four-year review and announces a new ESG research platform managed by the PRI
The four-year review report prepared by onValues was presented at a meeting of sell-side and independent research providers and EAI members in Paris. It provides a detailed analysis of the progress made in terms of the volume and quality of extra-financial research since the EAI's inception in 2004. The report concludes that EAI has been very successful in helping extra-financial research establish itself and that in a next phase this type of research should aim at expanding its reach and becoming a part of the mainstream offer.
To support this aim, EAI is joining forces with a larger and more international initiative: the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI). The PRI has announced that it will launch the first global, non-commercial database, dedicated to showcasing investment research that includes material environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues. onValues is supporting PRI in designing and testing the database.
>> Download Report: «EAI – Four years of the Enhanced Analytics Initiative»
>>( pdf, 1.4 mB)
5 November 2008
onValues co-authors ‹Sustainable Investing: The Art of Long Term Performance›
Ivo Knoepfel and Gordon Hagart are among the co-authors of a new book entitled, ‹Sustainable Investing: The Art of Long Term Performance›. Bringing together leading practitioners from around the world, the book examines the state-of-the-art in ESG-inclusive investments, and their prospects for the years ahead.
>> The book (ISBN: 1844075486) is available through the usual retail channels,
>> including Amazon
1 October 2008
onValues participates in the launch of the first global academic network on ESG-inclusive investments
At a meeting in Maastricht on 18 September 2008, the UN Principles for Responsible Investment in collaboration with the European Centre for Corporate Engagement (ECCE) launched the first global academic network dedicated to research on ESG issues in investment. Leading research institutions including Boston College, ECCE, Saint Mary’s College, Umea University, Gothenburg University and University of St. Andrews took part in the launch event. onValues and Mistra presented lessons learned from the academic programme on sustainable investments that was launched by Mistra already in 2005, and highlighted practitioners’ requirements for this type of academic research.
>> For further information: www.corporate-engagement.com
25 August 2008
onValues brings together real estate investors and academics to discuss environmental and social issues
On 12 June 2008 onValues ran a workshop on environmental and social issues in real estate investments on behalf of Mistra, The Foundation for Strategic Environmental Research.
Workshop participants believe that E&S issues will increase in importance in the future due to, among other factors, rising resource prices, regulatory incentives aimed at combating climate change, and the renewed market focus on fundamentals after the real estate boom years. Participants noted that the financial costs and benefits of resource efficiency investments are not evenly distributed among different actors (owners, tenants, developers, other agents) and that this represents an important (but not insurmountable) barrier to investments in this area.
Participants also highlighted the fact that resource efficiency is not the only value driver. Better locations, increased occupant comfort, brand and reputation leading to higher building values, occupancy rates and rental yields can all make significant contributions to increasing the return and reducing the volatility of real estate investments (and should be explained better by developers).
The workshop report below includes an introductory chapter on the relevance of environmental and social issues from the point of view of real estate investors, as well as a summary of the most interesting findings from the presentations and discussions.
>> Download report: «The value of environmental and social issues to real estate investors»
>> ( pdf, 785 kB)
4 July 2008
The UN PRI Initiative releases new assessment of ESG integration
The US$ 14 trillion Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) Initiative recently published its second assessment that captures in significant detail how signatory investors are integrating environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues within investment decision making and ownership practices. Selected key results include:
• 32% of respondents said they would now revisit relationships with service providers
in light of ESG issue-related capabilities. A 68% increase on the number of signatories
willing to do this last year.
• 70% of signatories ask companies to produce standardized reporting on their ESG
policies, practices or performance
• Principle 1 of the PRI, which focuses on incorporating ESG issues into investment
analysis and decision making was ranked the most difficult to implement.
>> Download report: «PRI Report on Progress 2008» ( pdf, 2.6 mB)
23 May 2008
onValues takes a closer look at SRI growth statistics
In the May 2008 edition of Environmental Finance magazine Ivo Knoepfel and Gordon Hagart explain why the rash of data showing the growth of socially responsible and sustainable investments should be treated with caution.
>> Download article: «Behind the numbers» ( pdf, 530 kB)
16 April 2008
Investing in timberland
onValues has recently assessed investment opportunities in sustainable timberland on behalf of its clients. Some of our thoughts and conclusions are summarised in an article in the April 2008 edition of Global Pensions magazine. Ivo Knoepfel of onValues points out that investment managers and investors will have to look more closely at environmental and social issues related to timber production in the future, given that investments are increasingly taking place in emerging and developing countries. Environmental and social certification schemes support investment decisions, but their growing number and quality poses a challenge.
>> Download article: «Blossoming interest in timber» ( pdf, 120 kB)
25 March 2008
onValues releases detailed analysis of the Swiss sustainable investment market
The market for sustainable investments in Switzerland continued its strong growth in 2007 according to research by onValues. In spite of financial market turbulence, the total market volume increased by 67% in the period between end of 2006 and end of 2007 reaching a volume of CHF 30 billion (CHF 34 billion if also assets managed in Switzerland on behalf of foreign clients and subsidiaries are included). Assets managed in sustainable funds and other collective vehicles grew 92% in the same period, while the total Swiss fund market saw its volume decrease by 1%.
In a separate survey, the Swiss market for sustainable theme investments was assessed in detail for the first time. Assets under management for the three most important themes (climate change, renewable energy / energy efficiency and sustainable water) amounted to CHF 21.7 billion per end of 2007, of which CHF 9.7 billion included an analysis of the environmental, social and governance performance of holdings in addition to selecting companies on the basis of their theme exposure. The strong growth of investments in the still relatively young climate change theme is particularly notable.
>> Download report: «Sustainable investments in Switzerland 2007» ( pdf, 170 kB)
28 February 2008
onValues presents the results of the Enhanced Analytics Initiative's seventh evaluation of investment research
In January 2008 onValues presented the results of the latest Enhanced Analytics Initiative (EAI) evaluation of investment research that is inclusive of material environmental, social and governance issues. onValues provides analytical and strategic support to the EAI's 30 asset owner and asset manager members, who collectively represent more than € 2.1 trillion (US$ 3.1 trillion) in assets. The latest evaluation, which is summarised in the public report below, noted that analysts are increasingly tackling more challenging issues in combination with under-researched sectors and regions, for example through corporate governance analysis of eastern European or Asian companies.
>> Downloadt: Public summary report on EAI December 2007 Evaluation ( pdf, 160 kB)
17 January 2008
Global Pensions Magazine publishes onValues research into sustainable
real estate
The investment case for energy-efficient and sustainable real estate is the topic of a January 2008 article by Ivo Knoepfel and Gordon Hagart in the Global Pensions Magazine. The authors argue that higher energy prices and environmental constraints will be a powerful source of new opportunities and risks in real estate. They describe how the ability of new building technologies to achieve higher occupant comfort, healthier indoor environments and improved resource efficiency has direct positive impacts on the investment case for sustainable buildings, and how a small number of leading institutional investors are already using these trends to their financial advantage.
>> Downloadt: Global Pensions Magazine article ( pdf, 105 kB)
4 December 2007
onValues contributes an analysis of climate change related investment research to the 10th Euro Finance Week in Frankfurt
Ivo Knoepfel, onValues’ managing director, participated in the 2nd Corporate Responsibility Conference in the context of the 10th Euro Finance Week on 22 November 2007. In his presentation he shared results of an analysis of the growing volume of sell-side and independent research focussing on climate change issues. While most of the research still focuses on impacts from regulatory developments (e.g. risks and opportunities related to the EU emissions trading system), he observed that an increasing body of research assesses business opportunities related to new products and technologies, and risks (and opportunities) related to the physical impacts of a changing climate. Positive is also the fact that the coverage of sectors and regions continues to widen, as well as the time horizons of researchers’ analysis. In the same session, representatives from Germanwatch and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research presented a stochastic approach based on Bayesian risk analysis that analysts can use to evaluate the impact of uncertain input factors on company valuations.
>> Download report: «Financial analysts‘ coverage of climate change related issues – An
>> update» ( pdf, 490 kB)
>> For further information: http://www.climate-mainstreaming.net/2007-11-22d.htm
17 October 2007
A workshop with Scandinavian and international investors confirms the relevance of environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues for emerging markets investments
At the event, hosted by Mistra (the Foundation for Strategic Environmental Research) and moderated by onValues, leading institutional investors, asset managers, investment and academic researchers took an in-depth look at key ESG issues at the company and country level in emerging markets, priority areas for engagement with companies and ways in which academic research can support the work of practitioners. The discussions were based on the findings of the earlier ‹Who Cares Wins› event held on 5 July 2007 (see relative news item) and were aimed at exploring the issues in more depth and integrating them in investment decisions. A selection of lessons-learned includes (a detailed workshop report will be made available shortly):
• Corporate governance at the company level was seen as the best starting point
for integrating ESG issues in emerging markets investments, because of its usefulness
as a proxy for overall management quality – not just in dealing with risks but also
with opportunities
• The importance of visiting companies and being able to contextualise ESG infor-
mation was stressed. Where the investor (or an agent acting on his behalf) is not able
to meet directly with companies, the only ESG research likely to add value was found
to be basic corporate governance work and checking for major breaches of inter-
national norms
• Other important ESG issues highlighted were rising costs and shortages of energy
and water (both a source of risks and opportunities)
• Quality of disclosure on ESG issues (particularly voluntary disclosure that goes
beyond legal requirements) was seen as a proxy for the company's willingness to
be transparent and treat all investors fairly, and for overall management quality
• In conclusion, workshop participants also stressed investors’ increasing exposure
to ESG issues in emerging markets through their investments in multinational compa-
nies with growing production and sales volumes in those markets.
>> Download report: «Emerging markets investments: do environmental, social and governance
>> issues matter?» ( pdf, 390 kB)
10 September 2007
The Swiss market for ESG-inclusive investments doubles between June 2006 and June 2007
The Swiss market for ESG-inclusive investments continues to show strong growth, according to a biannual market survey produced by onValues. Swiss assets (including funds, mandates and structured products) that are managed with the explicit inclusion of environmental, social and governance issues totalled approximately CHF 25 billion at the end of the first half of 2007. This represents an increase of 39% relative to the volume per end of 2006, and a doubling of ESG-inclusive assets in the past 12 months. Interesting trends observed are the increasing share of private client investments and the strong growth of new products with a focus in sustainable themes such as climate change, water and alternative energy.
>> Download: Press release (in German; pdf, 85 kB)
27 August 2007
onValues website expands with newsfeed feature
The onValues website has today expanded to capture better the trends shaping the industry in which we operate. Our Industry Trends page describes the long-term drivers that in our view are changing the dynamics of the financial services sector. The Newsfeed page illustrates these trends through a regularly-updated selection of articles.
>> New pages: Industry Trends and Newsfeed
July 2007
New frontiers in emerging markets investments
This was the topic of the fourth annual Who Cares Wins event which brought together more than 80 investment professionals from leading asset owners, asset managers, investment research and consulting institutions. It took place on 5 July 2007 in Geneva and was facilitated by onValues on behalf of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, the International Finance Corporation and the UN Global Compact. The goals of the event were to 1) assess the importance of environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues in emerging markets investments; 2) showcase and reinforce best-practice in the consideration of ESG issues in asset management and investment research; 3) identify opportunities for future developments and collaboration in this area.
>> Download report: New Frontiers in Emerging Markets Investment ( pdf, 910 kB)
25 June 2007
onValues profiles investment research on mergers and acquisitions (M&A)
The Enhanced Analytics Initiative (EAI), an alliance of asset owners and managers who collectively represent more than 1.9 trillion (US$ 2.6 trillion) in assets, commissioned onValues to produce a case study of the quality of investment research on mergers and acquisitions (M&A). The study investigated whether research providers covering M&A transactions are addressing the full range of issues that may be material to long-term investors. Depending on the type of M&A activity, these issues might include the impact of combining different corporate governance regimes and corporate cultures, the role of management, potential impacts on intangible assets, and environmental liabilities acquired in a transaction. The study's main conclusions are presented in the public summary report below
>> Download: Summary report on EAI case study ( pdf, 60 kB)
26 April 2007
The Swiss market for ESG-inclusive investments reaches 17.9 billion CHF
according to a survey by onValues
The survey per end of December of 2006 shows an impressive increase in the size of this market compared to the previous year (17.9 billion compared to 10.6 billion CHF). The survey covered 21 providers and different investment products and services (funds, mandates, structured products). The growth in volume of ESG-inclusive funds in 2006 (+55.7%) was more than five times as big as the growth of the overall Swiss fund market. An increasing interest by private banking clients and the growing demand for structured products and funds dedicated to sustainable themes, such as alternative energy and water, were seen as being main drivers for this development.
6 March 2007
onValues publishes an overview appraisal of the current state of ESG-inclusive investments
In the latest edition of the Environmental Finance magazine, Gordon Hagart and Ivo Knoepfel provide an overview and assessment of current trends in the ESG-inclusive investment field. More sophisticated applications of environmental, social and governance (ESG) information to a wider range of asset classes and financial products could mean that in future ESG issues increasingly become drivers of financial product innovation rather than niche concerns, argue the authors.
>> Download: Environmental Finance article ( pdf, 530 kB)
1 February 2007
Enhanced Analytics Initiative celebrates second anniversary in light of a strong
increase in membership
The Enhanced Analytics Initiative (EAI) yesterday announced the results of its latest evaluation of investment research providers, which is based on analysis provided by onValues. On the eve of its second anniversary, the Initiative has seen a surge in new members in the past months and now represents total assets under management of €1.8 trillion. The EAI is an international collaboration between asset owners and asset managers aimed at encouraging better investment research, in particular research that takes account of the impact of extra-financial issues on long-term investment. The EAI incentivises research providers to provide better analysis of extra financial issues within mainstream research.
>> For further information on EAI: http://www.enhanced-analytics.com
27 December 2006
German researchers assess carbon and climate change risks for the financial industry
Three of the most influential climate policy and economics research institutions – the ‹Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research›, ‹Germanwatch› and the ‹Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung› (DIW) – have launched a multi-year research programme on the risks (and opportunities) that climate change and carbon mitigation strategies are expected to pose to the financial industry. onValues is part of the consortium and will contribute dedicated research and support. As part of a first set of research tasks, onValues has assessed the way in which sell-side investment research is dealing with these aspects and developed a conceptual framework through which carbon and climate risks could better be factored into current stock valuation models. Special attention was dedicated to dealing with the intrinsic uncertainty related to these aspects.
10 November 2006
onValues works with the private banking industry on expanding the scope
of ESG-inclusive investment
onValues contributed to the organisation of an event on 10 November 2006 at the Palais des Nations (the United Nations Office at Geneva) that discussed expanding the range of ESG-inclusive investment strategies offered by private banks. The meeting, which was hosted by the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI), assembled senior executives from a range of international private banking institutions. The challenges of improving ESG-inclusive investment services for private clients are detailed in a UNEP FI publication prepared by onValues, which can be downloaded below.
>> Download report: «Unlocking Value: The scope for environmental, social and
governance issues in private banking» ( pdf, 350 kB)
>> For further information on UNEP FI: http://www.unepfi.org
October 2006
Article on active ownership initiatives by investors
In a recent article published by the leading Swiss financial newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Peter Zollinger from SustainAbility and Ivo Knoepfel from onValues analyse current trends pointing to a more active ownership approach by large asset owners, namely pension funds. Initiatives such as the Principles for Responsible Investment and the Enhanced Analytics Initiative are described. onValues is increasingly supporting clients in this field, e.g. on issues related to exercising equity voting rights and active engagement with companies.
>> Download: Neue Zürcher Zeitung article (in German) ( pdf, 516 kB)
>> For further information about: onValues Active Ownership services
28 September 2006
Communicating ESG value drivers at the company-investor interface
For the third year in a row, onValues is organising a closed-door meeting of over
50 financial institutions leading the integration of environmental, social and governance
(ESG) issues in investment processes and research. This year’s event will examine
the communication of financially-material ESG issues at the interface between companies
and financial analysts. Confirmed corporate participants include senior representatives
of BASF, BT, Hoffmann-La Roche, Holcim, Nestlé, Rio Tinto and Shell. Financial services
sector participants include CEOs / CIOs from asset owners and managers and Heads of
Research from the sell side. The event is co-sponsored by the Federal Department of Foreign
Affairs, the International Finance Corporation and the UN Global Compact.
>> Download report: «Communicating ESG Value Drivers at the Company-
Investor Interface» ( pdf, 390 kB)
July 2006
Mistra and onValues advance the boundaries of ESG-inclusive investment in the fixed
income domain
In June 2006 onValues coordinated a workshop on behalf of Mistra, The Foundation for
Strategic Environmental Research, on the integration of environmental, social and governance
(ESG) issues into fixed income investment. The workshop was stimulated by the apparent
mismatch between the research devoted to understanding the financial impacts of ESG issues
in the fixed income domain and that in equities (in a climate of large and growing allocations
to fixed income asset classes by institutional investors).
The key questions posed by the half-day workshop were as follows:
• What is the state of the art in the integration of ESG issues into investment research
and asset management in corporate fixed income securities?
• What are the current approaches to ESG issues for investors in non-corporate debt?
• How can fixed income investors benefit from the 'head start' of equity investors in this
domain? In which areas might their investment decisions differ?
• What possibilities exist for fixed income investors to engage with investee companies
and other issuers of debt?
• How can academic research support the work of industry practitioners in this field?
Please find the outcomes of the workshop on the Mistra website by downloading the
following document:
>> Download report: «Sustaining interest – Outcomes of a Mistra workshop on environmental,
social and governance (ESG) issues in fixed income investment» ( pdf, 250 kB)
2 May 2006
onValues becomes a founding signatory of the Principles for Responsible Investment
On 2 May 2006 onValues became one of the founding signatories of the Principles for
Responsible Investment (PRI). The PRI is an investor-led initiative convened by the United
Nations and supported (at time of launch) by institutional asset owners and managers
representing more than US$4 trillion in assets. Institutions signing the Principles commit to
incorporating environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues into investment analysis
and decision-making processes and to being active owners with respect to ESG issues.
Ivo Knoepfel, Managing Director of onValues, commented, «The onValues team has
been closely involved with the PRI since we were invited to join the panel of experts helping
to develop the Principles back in April 2005. We are delighted to see the launch of what
we believe is an important milestone for the industry. Moreover, in signing the Principles we
commit to providing a range of products and services that will help institutional investors to
put the Principles into practice».
>> Download: «Principles for Responsible Investment launch document» ( pdf, 173 kB)
>> For further information about: onValues Active Ownership services
>> For further information: http://www.unpri.org
5 April 2006
IFC launches competition to improve extra-financial research for emerging
market equity investors
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) launched today a competition to provide
investors in emerging market equities with better research on companies’ social and environ-
mental performance. onValues is part of the panel of independent experts responsible for
selecting the winning proposals.
IFC’s Capturing Value program invites research houses, rating firms, index providers, and
similar organizations to compete for grants of up to US$ 500’000. The grants will support
development of new information services geared to sustainable and responsible investment
in developing country firms. By making better information available, the goal is to facilitate
an increase in high-quality, long-term investment in emerging markets from pension funds
and other investors worldwide.
The deadline for interested parties to submit proposals is June 30, 2006. IFC will announce
the winner(s) of the competition at the ‹Who Cares Wins› Annual Event on the 28th of Sep-
tember in Zürich.
>> More information can be found at: http://www.ifc.org
16 March 2006
Swiss market for sustainable investments exceeds the 10 billion CHF mark,
according to a survey prepared by onValues
On behalf of leading providers Ethos, SAM, Sarasin, Swisscanto, UBS and ZKB, onValues
has prepared an in-depth analysis of the Swiss market for sustainable investments. Data from
eighteen providers was collected and analysed. For the first time also investment mandates
and structured products – in addition to pooled vehicles – were included in the survey. Results
show that total assets under management exceeded 10 billion CHF per end of 2005, far more
than was previously assumed. Detailed results, including asset classes, investment styles
and investor types will be presented at the ‹Fachmesse 2. Säule› event on 4 May 2006.
>> Download report: «Swiss SRI Market Survey of Dec. 31 2005.pdf» ( pdf, 117 kB)
14 February 2006
Enhanced Analytics Initiative releases December 2005 Evaluation of sell-side research
On 18 January 2006 the Enhanced Analytics Initiative (EAI) announced the results of its latest
evaluation of sell-side research. EAI members reward research providers that are effective
in analysing material extra-financial issues (EFIs), with each biannual evaluation serving as the
basis for EAI members’ allocation of a minimum of 5% of their respective commission budgets.
onValues is the exclusive provider of analysis for EAI Evaluations. For the purposes of the
December 2005 Evaluation the output from 31 research providers was assessed for quality
and coverage using a methodology developed by onValues and EAI members. The following
institutions (in alphabetical order) have been evaluated as providing the best EFI research
in the period and will be eligible for EAI commissions in the first half of 2006: Bernstein, CLSA,
CM CIC, Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, UBS and WestLB
The EAI was established by a group of asset owners and managers committed to promoting
better sell-side research on extra-financial issues. Total assets under management of current
members (which include ABP, BNP Paribas Asset Management, Hermes Pensions Manage-
ment, PGGM and the Universities Superannuation Scheme) exceed € 681 billion.
>> Download report: «Summary of the Dec. 2005 Evaluation of EFI Research» ( pdf, 85 kB)
>> For further information: http://www.enhanced-analytics.com
5 January 2006
responsAbility Global Microfinance Fund reaches the US$ 40 million mark
The responsAbility Fund, registered in Luxemburg in November 2003, is now one of the
world’s largest investment vehicles in microfinance and fair trade. As per November 2005,
the fund’s US$ 40 million were invested in 94 microfinance institutions in 33 developing
or transition countries worldwide and reached out to 57’500 micro-entrepreneurs.
Worth noting is the fund’s regular reporting of its social and development impacts, as
well as of its financial performance. Microfinance is an important instrument to support
entrepreneurship and alleviate poverty throughout the world, as underlined by the UN which
declared 2005 the UN Year of Microcredit. onValues has supported responsAbility – the
management company of the Fund – in defining its investment and research processes,
in evaluating investments and due-diligence processes, in developing a risk rating system
including political, currency, market and operational risks, and in developing its social
performance reporting.
13 September 2005
GRI Investors Consultation Group concludes its work
The Global Reporting Initiative convened a group of financial market specialists to
better understand the information needs of the financial community and to identify ways
to ensure that GRI-based reports can be of maximum value for financial analysts. The
group made a series of practical recommendations aimed at producing a short version
of sustainability reports specifically targeted to financial analysts. onValues facilitated
the consultation process and provided specialist advice.
>> For further information: http://www.globalreporting.org/ReportingFramework/G3Online/
25 August 2005
Investing for Long-term Value
Over 40 financial institutions have met in Zurich on 25 August 2005 to discuss
progress in integrating environmental, social and governance factors in investment
and financial research. The conference was organised by onValues as a follow-
up to last year’s launch of the ‹Who Cares Wins› report and was hosted by the Swiss
Government, the Global Compact and the IFC. At the one-day event representatives
of asset management, sell-side and buy-side research, investment consultants
and other financial service providers have discussed topics ranging from collaborative
initiatives to innovative products and services, investment and research processes.
>> Download report: «Investing for Long-Term Value» ( pdf, 330 kB)
6 June 2005
Enhanced Analytics Initiative releases latest evaluation of extra-financial research
The evaluation is part of regular 6-monthly assessments of global research on extra-
financial issues prepared by onValues on behalf of EAI members. 84 reports issued by
sell-side and other research organisations in the period between Nov. 04 - April 05 were
analysed in detail leading the following top-ranked organisations which are eligible for
EAI commissions allocation for the second half of 2005: Bernstein, DrKW, CM-CIC, UBS,
Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs. The summary report prepared by onValues con-
cludes that this is a time of testing and gearing up, not yet of major break-through for
extra-financial research.
>> Download report: «Summary Report EAI June 05 Evaluation» ( pdf, 480 kB)
>> For further information: http://www.enhanced-analytics.com
16 November 2004
First meeting of a Conference Board working group on ESG issues in investment
The working group, for which onValues provides facilitation support and technical
input, includes eight leading financial services companies and institutional investors
interested at improving the way environmental, social and governance issues are
being factored into their investment processes and at increasing the awareness for
these issues in the financial sector. The group aims to develop a methodological
framework to support analysts and portfolio managers in their daily work. The final
report of the group is expected to be released by the Conference Board in July 05.
June 2004
Launch of U.N. Global Compact ‹Who Cares Wins› report
A report facilitated by onValues and endorsed by 20 leading financial institutions
containing recommendations to better integrate environmental, social and governance
issues in financial analysis, asset management and securities brokerage was released
at the U.N. Leaders’ Summit in New York. Twenty financial institutions from 9 countries
with total assets under management of over 6 trillion USD have participated in developing
this report.
>> Download report «Who Cares Wins» ( pdf, 1.6 mb, please allow time to download)
February 2004
‹Values for Money – Reviewing the Quality of SRI Research›
This report, prepared by UK consultancy SustainAbility in collaboration with onValues
on behalf of the Swedish foundation Mistra, includes an analysis of the most important
trends and challenges for SRI research as well as a detailed review of 15 SRI research
organisations from around the world in light of two major challenges: the emergence
of sell-side brokers as suppliers of research; the ongoing erosion in the price of research,
coupled with higher investor expectations of research services.
>> Download report «Values for money» ( pdf, 280 kB)
>> For further information: http://www.sustainability.com/insight/sri-article.asp
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