PART 2 PUBLIC EQUITY IMPACT INVESTING - A DUTCH PERSPECTIVE - OUTLOOK 2019
THE IMPACT TRANSITION WILL FOLLOW THE GREEN TRANSITION
The surge of green & climate (mitigation) investments builds on setting key criteria such as carbon emission & E(SG) focus, developing strategies (Theory's of Change) and innovative green investment products such as Green Bonds. Built on green standards & guidelines (ClimateBonds.net & ICMA), financial principles (sector) and accreditation, labeling (by ESG research experts). Lobby & Advocacy, knowledge exchange (conferences, awards, newsletters, networks. commitments) and trade facilitation.
Easy access through the Green Xchange (LGX) in Luxembourg and the LondonStockExchange (Group) Global Sustainable Investment Centre and NASDAQ Baltics Green Leaves.
https://www.climatebonds.net/ & https://www.icmarkets.com/ https://www.bourse.lu/green &
https://www.lseg.com/sustainable
https://www.nasdaqbaltic.com/market/?pg=bonds&lang=en
Thought Piece: https://www.slideshare.net/alcanne/the-impact-transition-english
SECTOR CONTRIBUTION to SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
Professor Costanza Consolandi of the University of Siena and Bob Eccles visiting professor at Oxford Said Business School identified the (sub)sectors most important for all and individual SDGs. Giving impact investors relevant data to e.g. invest in the sectors contributing most to all the SDGs:
Food & Beverages : Healthcare & Resource Transformation (RT)
RT Five industries: containers & packaging (39.4), chemicals (31.3), aerospace & defense (30.8), electrical & electronic equipment (23.7), and industrial machinery & goods (17.0).
Food & Beverage : SDG 4 (57.8) SDG 2 (57.5) SDG 3 (43.1)
Health Care : SDG 4 (54.17) SDG 15 (40.91) SDG 3 (39.81)
Resource Transformation : SDG12 (45.71) SDG14 (42.86) SDG15 (42.50)
Consumption : SDG 4 (53.13) SDG 2 (51.56) SDG 13 (48.44)
Elaborate analysis of the top sectors on Forbes.com
''we analysed 26 material environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues (organized in terms of the categories environment, social capital, human capital, business model and innovation, and leadership and governance) of in all 77 industries organized into 11 sectors,
developed by the SASB.org Sustainability Accounting Standards Board
to the 169 targets of the SDGs”. SASB Materiality Map:
https://www.sasb.org/standards-overview/materiality-map/
Lowest score probably Financials as it's top 3 score just below Services.
For investors with Theory of Change / Catalytic Investment Strategy
Finance Top3: : SDG 4 (25) SDG 9 (22.22) & SDG 10 (21.43)
Also rather surprising extractive resources & mining just under F&B, Healthcare & Resource Transformation. But Renewables do much better :)
Consolandi & Eccles also give (impact) investors data to effectively invest in individual SDGs: e.g. People themes: (rounded numbers)
SDG 1 No Poverty
Health Care (25) Consumption (21) Nonrenewable Resources (20)
SDG 2 No Hunger
Consumption (52) Health Care (40) Nonrenewable Resources (27)
SDG 3 Health & Wellbeing
Consumption (42) Health Care (40) Resource Transformation (33)
SDG 4 Education
Health Care (54) Consumption (53) Services (28)
SDG 5 Gender Equality
Health Care (33) Technology & Communications (31) Consumption (29)
SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities
Technology & Communications (25) Health Care (22) Financials (21)
MIT Sloan Management Review
https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/supporting-sustainable-development-goals-is-easier-than-you-might-think/ & Forbes https://www.forbes.com/sites/bobeccles/#345f308d5aa6
IMPACT TECH
Achieving the SDGs for as many people as possible is not going to happen without impact tech. #Fintech is boosting microfinance & inclusive finance (micro insurance/mortgage/inclusive investing) We need #Agritech to boost food production without growing water & land use, chemical (mined) fertilizers & emissions. #Healthtech & #eHealth are the answer to growing & ageing populations, a limited number of doctors (& hard to reach area's) and lifestyle & environmental diseases. #Edtech will offer education to all & all ages using the internet & improve learning results through infotainment (Tedtalks, visualization, video's, quizzes) & gaming techniques challenging students. #AI, Artificial Intelligence will accelerate the Ratiolution* making big scale & long term effects clear e.g. in the way offering micro/inclusive finance to women has numerous spin offs for their family & children, health & the local economy. #Cleantech will increase Sanitation goals and save sweet water, #Smarttech will boost renewable energy. #InclusiveGrowth as the purpose of economic progress creating more decent work & less inequality.
#Frugal Innovation should focus on resource efficiency (real assets & finance!) #Robotics make manual labor safer & easier and will develop more super aids for people with disabilities & (Automation will effect employment globally. SDG10 aims at inequalities among & within countries. #Housing & Logistics, efficient affordable transport in (healthy) sustainable cities & communities, #BasicNeeds as focal point for Responsible Consumption & Production (not technical possibilities or Say's law). #Climate, #Blue & #GreenTech as safeguards for the planet & biodiversity and something as simple as #ComplianceIT can support strong institutions including businesses creating economic growth, decent work, fulfillment of basic needs & innovative impact tech. #ComplianceIT is 'cleaning house' in finance (banking) & pinching off the dark economy. It is expanding into ESG investments & privacy regulation (GDPR).
Missing in the visual is SDG17 Partnership for the Goals : rational decisions, long term thinking, purpose & leadership. (=*Ratiolution)
SDGs & SYNERGY
The Dutch have a popular Easter Egg Hunt rhyme which goes:
1 Egg is no Egg,
2 Eggs are half an Easter Egg &
3 Eggs are an Easter Egg.
The same goes for SDGs: without SDG8 Economic Growth & Decent Work it's impact can never scale. SDG9 Sustainable, Environmentally sound Industry, Resilient Innovation & Infrastructure: transport, irrigation, energy and ITC are the facilitators. ''Without technology & innovation, industrialization (scale) will not happen, and without industrialization, development will not happen''. https://www.globalgoals.org/
People or Planet SDGs added to SDG8&9 steer efforts towards an impact optimum.
SDG Impact metrics monitoring will uncover optimum SDG synergy.
UNDP collaborates in an academic partnership to develop & monitor SDG metrics & progress.
https://www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/news/um-joins-undp-partnership
Building an Impact Investing Portfolio
with Safe Large caps (debt) & Sexy Impact Techs
ESG investing is surging generally prioritising solid large caps & ESG scored operations over core activity & disruptive innovations undermining technological or operational dinosaurs. For retail investors the accessible, affordable & less volatile investment products universe is growing. With Finance First retrospective founded products favoring dividend aristocrats & value (or stock price) track records of large caps. (But) Investing is a future oriented decision making process and we live in interesting times surfing the 4th Industrial Revolution with a Planetary Apocalypse on the horizon.
Thus I keep an eye out for the (potential) impact of new, lean technology & business model entrants to markets. Favoring cleary impact (SDG) aware social entrepreneurs.
Net Impact focused selection of investment products will highly likely lead retail investors to (impact / basic needs / impact tech) sector impact ETFs. With the majority holding the usual suspects: large caps as top holdings.
And that's OK. Because often they are mature & rock solid. (But) It would be GREAT if such (impact) sector ETPs were built around debt, fixed income, bonds with attractive coupons and low fees like e.g. the iShares & Lyxor Green Bond ETPs. But with more attractive returns/coupons......
I expect the ICMA guidelines for social and sustainability bonds to trigger People Impact Bonds and am hopeful they will offer more attractive returns offering societal property & the promise of exponential growth. More attractive, less nerdy than carbon & water footprints.
Heaven for Quants that helps.
So apart from a debt/fixed income and large cap orientation I call on retail investors to do their due diligence & look out for impact tech micro, small & mid caps & market entrants and their potential impact & return.(also large caps transitioning towards impact)
The visual suggests a selection system focusing on BASIC NEEDS large caps value stock in (sector) funds (diversified) with additional IMPACT TECH companies (zebra's > unicorns) favored by impact investors & VC's selecting Impact Tech Growth stock. Grants for & stakeholder collaboration with expert NGOs are a quality criterium.
LEADS: UNPRI UN Principles for Responsible Investment published the Impact Investing Market Map with leads in: typical 'impact investing sectors with track records & catalytic actors: Affordable Housing, Education, Health, Inclusive finance, Energy Efficiency, Green Buildings, Renewable Energy, Sustainable Agriculture, Sustainable Forestry & Water.
[BOX ] ESG Debt funds have surged as well but suffer from the same finance first bias and impact washing for which I developed the Impact Investing Funds Checklist. Emerging Markets ESG funds show the same characteristics. A quick scan of US offered EM Debt ETFs show mainly government debt including totalitarian & corrupt (-ion suffering) regimes: Finance First in the darkest sense,
Checklist: https://www.slideshare.net/alcanne/impact-investment-funds-checklist [ BOX ]
About Alcanne is Drs in Political Contemporary History: Strategies & Trends in Dutch Development Cooperation (RUU Prop. & RUG, 1984-1988), Master of Arts in Politics of Alternative Development Strategies, (Erasmus) Institute of Social Studies (Den Haag) in (1989-1990). I worked for large Dutch charities in PR, MarCom & Fundraising for 20 years & am an impact investor since 2011.
Contact & Columns: https://nl.linkedin.com/in/alcannehoutzaager
Lectures & Panels:
https://www.zijspreekt.nl/sprekers/profile/Alcanne-Houtzaager-/721/
Twitter: @alcanne
YT: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWy9RStgcgCMe59mhcHsbQQ
Tools & Thought Pieces: https://www.slideshare.net/alcanne/presentations
Q&A Ask me Anything NL ENGLISH
Friday 1st February 2019 Noon UTC +1