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ESG: Is it worth it?

By Richard Edgar Editor in Chief

5 April 2018

Last month our Analyst Survey suggested a significant increase in companies taking environmental, social and governance issues seriously. But what does ESG mean in practice for investors? What are the biggest ESG issues of the next decade? And does sustainable investing have to come at the expense of returns? These are the questions our clients are asking. Here, Fidelity Answers.

Last month our Analyst Survey suggested a significant increase in companies taking environmental, social and governance issues seriously. But what does ESG mean in practice for investors? What are the biggest ESG issues of the next decade? And does sustainable investing have to come at the expense of returns? These are the questions our clients are asking. Here, Fidelity Answers.

Defining ESG: Evolution not revolution

Article Defining ESG: Evolution not revolution

ESG investing seems all the rage, but what does this focus on environmental, social and governance criteria actually mean for investors?

Article ESG and performance in 7 charts

Definitive answers are hard to come by but aggregating the research shows a positive relationship between ESG and financial performance.

Avoiding 'cybergeddon': ESG risk in an interconnected world

Article Avoiding 'cybergeddon': ESG risk in an interconnected world

In an increasingly digital society, cybersecurity and data protection are rapidly emerging as some of the biggest ESG risks for companies to manage.

China's changing environmental priorities

Video China's changing environmental priorities

China is the world's biggest emitter of greenhouse gases but is also becoming a global leader in promoting green investment and fighting pollution.

Bibliography The investment world's best ESG material

We did the reading so you don't have to.

Pulling away: Inequality as an ESG risk

White Paper Pulling away: Inequality as an ESG risk

Wealth distribution, emerging threats to the status quo, and why inequality is turning into an important sustainability risk.

ESG leadership: Japan steps forward as the US steps back

Article ESG leadership: Japan steps forward as the US steps back

When it comes to policy leadership in the arena of environmental, social and governance factors, Japan is stepping up even as the US is stepping back.

Article Longer cycle, shorter horizons: Governance at the end of the cycle

Why extra scrutiny of corporate governance, especially capital deployment decisions, is necessary towards the end of the cycle.

Article ESG in real estate: How green is your castle?

How and why ESG is starting to be taken seriously in real estate investing.

Article Green bonds: Five important questions answered

Green bonds are a useful group of assets in ESG investing, but some investors are not entirely clear on key aspects of the instruments.

Podcast Inside the investment process: ESG at every step

How investors considered ESG in the case of an investment in ChemChina, the Chinese state-owned chemical giant.

What is and what isn't ESG: the investors' definition

Video What is and what isn't ESG: the investors' definition

Investment chiefs from Denmark, Italy and Japan on how they define what is - and what isn't - ESG, and how it informs their approach to investing.

More editions

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Outlook 2024: Four ways forward

November 2023

Outlook 2024: Four ways forward

November 2023

Rich Pickings podcast: Outlook 2024

Sustainability outlook: Focus on regulation and nature in 2024

Asia outlook: Riding the growth momentum

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ESG Analyst Survey 2023: Mind the gap

June 2023

ESG Analyst Survey 2023: Mind the gap

June 2023

The Chinese character of sustainable investing

Government regulation will drive real change in ESG

Mind the gap: Companies need to spend much more on net zero

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Sustainable Investing Report 2023: Nature positive

June 2023

Sustainable Investing Report 2023: Nature positive

June 2023

Overview: Nature positive

Regulation is shaping the future of sustainability

Foreword: Anne Richards, CEO

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Bioacoustics: Can sound solve biodiversity's data deficit?

May 2023

Bioacoustics: Can sound solve biodiversity's data deficit?

May 2023

Watch the video: Testing bioacoustics in the Borneo rainforest

Bioacoustics podcast: Can sound solve biodiversity's data deficit?

Wild for sound: how new research is plugging biodiversity’s data deficit

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Analyst Survey 2023: Light at the end of the tunnel

February 2023

Analyst Survey 2023: Light at the end of the tunnel

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Analyst Survey 2023: Companies sticking with ESG - but one key blindspot remains

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Outlook 2023: Navigating the polycrisis

November 2022

Outlook 2023: Navigating the polycrisis

November 2022

ESG Outlook: Getting real

Outlook 2023: Download the assets

Asia’s shifting growth model

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Sustainable Investing Report 2022: ESG 2.0

July 2022

Sustainable Investing Report 2022: ESG 2.0

July 2022

Active ownership at Fidelity

High impact: The pursuit of outcomes

Ratings 2.0: Fidelity’s sustainability ratings now doubly material

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Fidelity Analyst Survey 2022: Mind the roadblocks

February 2022

Fidelity Analyst Survey 2022: Mind the roadblocks

February 2022

Analyst Survey results and investment implications

Analysts on the headline findings

Analyst Survey 2022: China goes its own way

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Catch-2022: Unravelling the policy paradox

November 2021

Catch-2022: Unravelling the policy paradox

November 2021

ESG Outlook 2022: Three key priorities in sustainable investing

Rich Pickings podcast: Catch 2022 - what's in store for the year ahead

Asia’s shifting growth model

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Sustainable Investing Report 2021: Time to step up

July 2021

Sustainable Investing Report 2021: Time to step up

July 2021

Anne Richards on corporate responsibility and sustainable investing

Raising the bar for engagement

Impact just got real

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ESG Analyst Survey 2021: A world of opportunity

June 2021

ESG Analyst Survey 2021: A world of opportunity

June 2021

Key findings of Fidelity's ESG Analyst Survey explained

Analysts tell the stories behind the ESG Survey data

Many hands can make ESG work

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ESGenius: The case files

May 2021

ESGenius: The case files

May 2021

Anatomy of an ESG engagement: Interpump

Fidelity's engagement explained

In the weeds with one of the world’s largest pulp producers

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Fidelity Analyst Survey 2021: Counting down the days

March 2021

Fidelity Analyst Survey 2021: Counting down the days

March 2021

China sentiment points to sustained lead in global recovery

Deep dive on Japan: exporters bolstered by China recovery

Analyst Survey 2021: Region by region

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Outlook 2021: Seizing the new reality

November 2020

Outlook 2021: Seizing the new reality

November 2020

November's Rich Pickings: Outlook 2021

Asia Outlook 2021: Asian economies demonstrate resilience

Fixed income in 2021: Monetary policy to the rescue, but duration tantrums are possible

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Sustainability Report 2020: Sustainable capitalism in a post-Covid world

July 2020

Sustainability Report 2020: Sustainable capitalism in a post-Covid world

July 2020

Room for improvement in how investors assess real estate sustainability

Sustainability Report 2020: Fidelity CEO Anne Richards on sustainable capitalism

Engaging with investee companies across multiple themes

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After the virus: The new economic order

June 2020

After the virus: The new economic order

June 2020

Dislocation, dislocation, dislocation: Opportunities in UK real estate

Public equity markets are flagging when we need them the most

The end of the journey to the West: Chinese tech firms come home

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Coronavirus, the oil crash and market volatility

March 2020

Coronavirus, the oil crash and market volatility

March 2020

March's Rich Pickings podcasts: CIOs and portfolio managers on navigating stormy markets

China gets back to business

As gold’s surge draws wider interest, miners shine too

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Analyst Survey 2020: Cycle, what cycle?

February 2020

Analyst Survey 2020: Cycle, what cycle?

February 2020

Analyst Survey 2020 podcast: The findings discussed

Analyst Survey 2020: Sector by sector

Analyst Survey 2020: Region by region

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Outlook 2020: Soft landing, earnings returning

December 2019

Outlook 2020: Soft landing, earnings returning

December 2019

CIO Outlook video: Steve Ellis on Fixed Income

CIO Outlook video: Romain Boscher on Equities

CIO Outlook video: Andrew McCaffery on Multi Asset and Alternatives

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How should I allocate to China?

September 2019

How should I allocate to China?

September 2019

China’s third-pillar pension challenge

No pain, no gain: Chinese defaults are rising and recovery rates are falling

Grocery retail is the next frontier for e-commerce in China

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How should I allocate for income?

July 2019

How should I allocate for income?

July 2019

Why doing your research pays dividends

In charts: How demographic change is driving demand for income

Q&A: How do income and yield differ?

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What difference can active managers make in Sustainable Investing?

April 2019

What difference can active managers make in Sustainable Investing?

April 2019

A sustainable investor’s view on water scarcity in China

Data is helping to identify the diversity strategies that work

The challenge of investing sustainably in sovereign debt

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Fidelity Analyst Survey 2019

February 2019

Fidelity Analyst Survey 2019

February 2019

Region by region: Analyst Survey 2019

Podcast: Fidelity Analyst Survey 2019

ESG now pervasive in Europe and growing in China

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The world in 2029: How will investing change?

January 2019

The world in 2029: How will investing change?

January 2019

Bull and bear cases for China in 2029

Forecasting markets in 2029: 10 years is a long time in finance

How cost pressures will reshape the asset management industry

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How will demographics change my investing?

October 2018

How will demographics change my investing?

October 2018

Standing on demographic fault lines: The impact of population changes

In five charts: the demographic trends changing the world

Profiting from demographics: exploiting investment opportunities in a slow-moving world

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How should I allocate as market risks change?

September 2018

How should I allocate as market risks change?

September 2018

Practical approaches to getting comfortable with more risk

What is defensive this time: Building an all-weather portfolio

How to protect against black swans - if we can at all

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Why should I reconsider my allocation to Asia?

July 2018

Why should I reconsider my allocation to Asia?

July 2018

For and against China as a standalone allocation

China’s rising outbound flows will move global markets

The spectacular rise of Asia in 12 charts

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How should I combine active and passive in my portfolio?

June 2018

How should I combine active and passive in my portfolio?

June 2018

Engagement is the ESG X-factor

Combining AI and active management to make powerful investment decisions

Active and passive through the cycle - by Portfolio Managers who've seen it before

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Fidelity Analyst Survey 2018

February 2018

Fidelity Analyst Survey 2018

February 2018

Analysts lift the lid on their sectors’ optimism

Sector by sector: Fidelity Analyst Survey 2018

Region by region: Fidelity Analyst Survey 2018

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I can't avoid risk. How do I take it wisely?

February 2018

I can't avoid risk. How do I take it wisely?

February 2018

Currency hedging: Testing the theory

The investment world’s best writing on risk

ESG: Four underappreciated risks

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How should I prepare for the end of the cycle?

December 2017

How should I prepare for the end of the cycle?

December 2017

Bill McQuaker: what I learned from the last three cycles

China's tricky tightrope: High debt levels don't spell gloom but China's magic wand is gone

In depth in eight minutes: end of the cycle, explained

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How should I deal with a changing Central Bank environment?

December 2017

How should I deal with a changing Central Bank environment?

December 2017

The changing nature of inflation

Views from the desk: Diverging monetary policy

Easy days could soon be over: central bank policy normalisation

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