🌿 Unlocking the Secrets of ESG Data: A Guide for Asset Owners!

How do you differentiate between an Article 8 fund and those that claim to be Article 8+?

Or how often have you heard the following?

“We categorize our fund as Article 6, but we are really an Article 8 when compared with others”?

How do you make that evaluation yourself?

And are investment funds actually delivering on their stated ESG ambitions?

Demand to see the evidence, analyze the trends and compare! ⚖️

It is unrealistic to expect any rational individual, let alone a busy one, to read through hundreds of pages of sustainability reports. Each report is filled with appealing case studies and uniquely formatted for every fund manager, yet the sheer volume can be overwhelming. 📚

I have found that utilizing the disclosure requirements of the EU’s SFDR regulation, which all asset managers must follow when operating in or marketing investment products to EU investors, can be particularly advantageous.

In fact, FinDatEx, an association comprised of European financial associations, such as the European Banking Federation (EBF) and European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA), has created a completely standardized European ESG Template (“EET”) for the purpose of Financial Data Exchanges with regulators and other stakeholders.

Requiring external fund managers to present data to their investors or asset owners in the EET format enables a clearer synthesis of information. This approach allows stakeholders to effectively monitor whether fund managers are genuinely delivering on, or even disclosing, relevant ESG metrics backed by solid data.

🔍Standardized data definitions and consistent reporting methods make it easier to compare trends across different funds and track changes within funds over time, covering all private as well public asset classes.