Asset Managers: ESG Business Practices Survey 2021

ESG has become the topic du jour across the investment industry, with endless commentaries, papers, solutions and endorsements devoted to the topic. But there is a deeper question less asked: behind the sparkling veneer, what is the substance?

As asset managers respond to stakeholders and make their own decisions on how to tackle these longer-term risks, there is little clarity on what the industry is doing as a whole and how the business model is evolving.

To answer this critical question, the Insurance Investment Exchange (IIE) is delighted to partner with IFI Global and 3SG to conduct the first major research study focusing on asset managers around the world and their ESG business practices.

We would very much like to include your views in this study and would be grateful if you could take a few minutes to respond to the questions below. Please note that you are not obliged to answer all the questions.

All responses are strictly confidential. The data obtained from this research study will be anonymised and published in aggregate form only. As a thank you for participating, we will share the results and our analysis of the emerging trends within the asset management universe with you later this year.

Many thanks again,

Bob Swarup
Founder & CEO, Insurance Investment Exchange

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* 1. About you

Name *

Company *

Country

Email Address *

Phone Number

About Your Organisation

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* 2. What is the approximate AUM of your firm?

$0-25 billion

$25-100 billion

$100-250 billion

$250-500 billion

$500 billion to $1 trillion

Greater than $1 trillion

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* 3. Are you a carbon neutral organisation?

Yes

If not, does your organisation have plans to become carbon neutral?

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* 4. Is your organisation a member of or signatory to any ESG related bodies and standards (eg UNPRI, Net Zero Alliance, Stewardship Code etc)?

Yes

If yes, what bodies and/or standards is the organisation a member of or signatory to?

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* 5. Does your organisation have any CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) or corporate ESG policies in place?

Yes

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* 6. Does your organisation document its environmental activities?

Yes

If yes, are these documents made available to third parties?

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* 7. Does your organisation have a documented diversity policy?

Yes

If yes, please outline what your diversity policy covers.

ESG Strategy

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* 8. Has your organisation defined its ESG ambition in terms of:

	Yes	No
People (eg recruitment, training, compensation)?	People (eg recruitment, training, compensation)? Yes	People (eg recruitment, training, compensation)? No
Products and solutions (eg ESG specific, impact, integration)?	Products and solutions (eg ESG specific, impact, integration)? Yes	Products and solutions (eg ESG specific, impact, integration)? No
Preparations (eg its own activities, gender pay gap, net zero)?	Preparations (eg its own activities, gender pay gap, net zero)? Yes	Preparations (eg its own activities, gender pay gap, net zero)? No

Please provide any added detail or clarifications if you wish.

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* 9. Does your organisation have a dedicated ESG team?

Yes

If yes, please provide details of staffing and resourcing.

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* 10. Does the ESG or responsible investment function in your organisation have:

	Yes	No
Representation on the executive management committee, board or equivalent?	Representation on the executive management committee, board or equivalent? Yes	Representation on the executive management committee, board or equivalent? No
Investment veto powers?	Investment veto powers? Yes	Investment veto powers? No

Please provide any added detail or clarifications if you wish.

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* 11. Does your organisation have have KPIs for their own corporate performance in terms of E, S and G?

Yes

If yes, please provide details.

Client Engagement and Servicing

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* 12. What proportion of the firm’s assets are represented by dedicated ESG strategies and products?

0-5%

5-10%

10-25%

25-50%

Greater than 50%

Please provide any details or clarifications if you wish.

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* 13. Does your organisation integrate ESG into the investment process for all products?

Yes

No, but intend to within the next 3 years

Please provide any details or clarifications if you wish.

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* 14. Does your organisation provide specific ESG KPIs and metrics to clients?

Yes

If yes, please provide details and indicate whether you provide these for the E, S and G.

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* 15. Does the organisation disclose material ESG breaches to clients across:

	Yes	No
The relevant portfolio and underlying positions?	The relevant portfolio and underlying positions? Yes	The relevant portfolio and underlying positions? No
The firm as a whole?	The firm as a whole? Yes	The firm as a whole? No

If yes to the second, does the firm disclose ESG related litigation and settlements to clients (eg environmental breaches, unfair dismissals, discrimination suits, harassment)?

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* 16. Does your organisation integrate contributions to improved corporate or client ESG into the compensation structure for:

	Yes	No
Board members	Board members Yes	Board members No
Senior management	Senior management Yes	Senior management No
Portfolio managers	Portfolio managers Yes	Portfolio managers No
Client facing teams	Client facing teams Yes	Client facing teams No

Please provide any added detail or clarifications if you wish.

Counterparties and Entities that you work with

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* 17. Do you do due diligence on the ESG standards of the following organisations that you work with?

	Yes	No
Custodian banks	Custodian banks Yes	Custodian banks No
Distribution Partners – regional and global	Distribution Partners – regional and global Yes	Distribution Partners – regional and global No
Fund administrators	Fund administrators Yes	Fund administrators No
Fund platforms	Fund platforms Yes	Fund platforms No
Law firms	Law firms Yes	Law firms No
ManCo hosting platforms	ManCo hosting platforms Yes	ManCo hosting platforms No

Please provide any added detail or clarifications if you wish.

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* 18. Do you expect to be doing more ESG due diligence on the organisations that you work with in future?

Yes

Please provide any added detail or clarifications if you wish.

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* 19. Do you have a policy to diversify the composition of your fund boards?

Yes

If yes, do you have a target composition and timeframe for achieving? If no, do you expect to be doing so in the foreseeable future?

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* 20. Do you think that ESG criteria will become a factor in your fund domiciliation decision-making?

Yes

Please provide any added detail or clarifications if you wish.

Reporting

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* 21. Is your organisation planning to comply with the EU’s SFDR (Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation)?

Yes

Please provide any added detail or clarifications if you wish.

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* 22. Please feel free to add any further thoughts or comments here that you feel are relevant.

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* 23. Would you like to receive a copy of the research report once complete as well as other related materials from the IIE? Please note all materials are complimentary.

Yes please

No thanks

Thank you for your time and for sharing your thoughts. We sincerely appreciate it, and hope our survey will shine some much needed light on how the asset management industry is evolving, as well as provide thought-provoking insights.

We look forward to sharing the results with you in due course, and will also be hosting an event to share and debate the findings.

All best,

Bob Swarup
Founder & CEO, Insurance Investment Exchange