THIS MATERIAL IS A MARKETING COMMUNICATION.
The Landscape of ESG Exclusionary Strategies
Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) investing accounts for more than US$35 trillion AUM1 globally. The increased focus on ESG and upscale of the sustainable investing market was undoubtedly accelerated due to international developments like the Paris Agreement and national carbon neutrality pledges as well as impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Investors adopt a range of ESG investing strategies, including exclusionary screening, positive screening, thematic investing, impact investing and others. Each of these strategies consider ESG issues at different depths and breadths, and are often complementary to each other hence one or more strategies are commonly applied.
Exclusions, also known as negative screening, was one of the more commonly used strategies in previous years. However, in recent years, ESG integration became the most common strategy, primarily driven by the increasing availability and quality of ESG data, and companies in ESG “controversial” sectors transitioning their business to cater for the demands and pressures of the 21st century where ESG plays a significant part.
What are Exclusions?
In brief, exclusionary screening removes specific assets from an investment universe or strategy based on an investor’s investment philosophy considering ethical, religious, environmental or social values. Common exclusions include weapons, coal and tobacco, due to the damaging impacts their products or business activities have on the society and the environment.
It is a fund managers’ fiduciary duty to act in the clients’ best interests, that is to maximise financial returns. There are often debates around whether exclusions compensate financial returns; some argue exclusions screens out assets hence somewhat constraining potential investment opportunities. In a recent investor survey, results showed mixed views on this front: 20% investors indicated they believed exclusions had a positive impact on performance whilst 22% indicated they believed exclusions had a negative impact on performance2.
What is Mirae Asset’s Approach to Exclusions?
Mirae Asset has established an ESG Restrictive List (previously called ESG Negative List) since 2015. Since 2015, we have had in place ESG investment restrictions on weapons and tobacco stocks. Recently, we further introduced restrictions on thermal coal mining and unconventional oil & gas to the firm-wide ESG Restrictive List.
Regarding weapons for example, we consider a company’s total involvement in conventional weapons such as weapon-related systems, components, products and services. For tobacco, we focus on the upstream, restricting investments in companies that manufacture tobacco products.
At the same time, we carefully consider market developments and the evolution of businesses that are typically perceived as “controversial” or belong in commonly excluded sectors.
Considering Alternative Products as “Positive Offsets”
Tobacco is commonly excluded in investments, for obvious reasons of it being a public health issue. Tobacco products are addictive and kills more than 8 million people each year3. There is increasing regulations globally on tobacco products and growing consumer awareness on the dangers of smoking. However, we see an evolution in the tobacco sector that is creating a “positive offset” to the traditionally controversial business. We see the emergence of alternative tobacco products such as e-cigarettes and other next-generation nicotine delivery products; scientific evidence regarding the health benefits of such products are currently still inconclusive but are commonly seen as relatively less harmful to human health when compared to cigarettes4.
New market entrants, such as companies who only sell e-cigarettes, are disrupting the tobacco market. For example, 100% of revenue from Smoore International Holdings is from the e-cigarettes business, offering vaping technology solutions through the research, design and manufacturing of vaping devices and vaping components5. Leading tobacco companies are also diversifying their products to include e-cigarettes. For example, British American Tobacco (BAT) acquired e-cigarettes company Vuse in 2017. BAT also announced Vuse’s achievement of becoming the world’s first carbon neutral vape brand this year6.
Considering Companies’ Low Carbon Transition Plans
Fossil fuels and climate change is also a focus area when it comes to exclusions, primarily driven by regulatory pressures transpired from the Paris Agreement and national decarbonisation pledges. Commitments from the investment community to decarbonise investment portfolios, such as the Net Zero Asset Owner Alliance and the Net Zero Asset Manager Alliance, will also drive capital allocation away from fossil fuels and emissions intensive sectors and companies.
When it comes to excluding fossil fuel companies, we carefully consider whether and to what extent companies set low carbon transition pathways as part of their business plans. We see conventional oil & gas to be key to a low-carbon transition; natural gas has the lowest carbon intensity out of all fossil fuels and oil is still used significantly used in transportation and industrials sectors. However, considering Paris Agreement goals and low carbon policies worldwide, oil demand will likely peak in the next decade. We therefore encourage oil & gas companies to reduce activities in fossil fuel exploration and shift to low-carbon energy sources such as renewables.
For example, Reliance Industries, despite operating the world’s biggest refining complexes, has been actively transitioning its business away from fossil fuels with carbon net zero goals set for 20357. Not only will Reliance invest $10.1 billion in clean energy, but is also developing technologies to create bio-crude oil from algae and piloting carbon capture, utilisation and sequestration at refinery and power plants8.
2 AlphaWise, Morgan Stanley Research, July 2021
3 World Health Organization, July 2021
4 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, April 2021
5 FactSet, September 2021
6 British American Tobacco, May 2021
7 Reuters, June 2021
8 Reliance Industries Limited, June 2020
Staying Ahead with Mirae Asset’s Latest Insights
Disclaimer & Information for Investors
No distribution, solicitation or advice: This document is provided for information and illustrative purposes and is intended for your use only. It is not a solicitation, offer or recommendation to buy or sell any security or other financial instrument. The information contained in this document has been provided as a general market commentary only and does not constitute any form of regulated financial advice, legal, tax or other regulated service.
The views and information discussed or referred in this document are as of the date of publication. Certain of the statements contained in this document are statements of future expectations and other forward-looking statements. Views, opinions and estimates may change without notice and are based on a number of assumptions which may or may not eventuate or prove to be accurate. Actual results, performance or events may differ materially from those in such statements. In addition, the opinions expressed may differ from those of other Mirae Asset Global Investments’ investment professionals.
Investment involves risk: Past performance is not indicative of future performance. It cannot be guaranteed that the performance of the Fund will generate a return and there may be circumstances where no return is generated or the amount invested is lost. It may not be suitable for persons unfamiliar with the underlying securities or who are unwilling or unable to bear the risk of loss and ownership of such investment. Before making any investment decision, investors should read the Prospectus for details and the risk factors. Investors should ensure they fully understand the risks associated with the Fund and should also consider their own investment objective and risk tolerance level. Investors are advised to seek independent professional advice before making any investment.
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Information for EU investors pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2019/1156: This document is a marketing communication and is intended for Professional Investors only. A Prospectus is available for the Mirae Asset Global Discovery Fund (the “Company”) a société d'investissement à capital variable (SICAV) domiciled in Luxembourg structured as an umbrella with a number of sub-funds. Key Investor Information Documents (“KIIDs”) are available for each share class of each of the sub-funds of the Company.
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The sub-funds of the Company are currently notified for marketing into a number of EU Member States under the UCITS Directive. FundRock Management Company can terminate such notifications for any share class and/or sub-fund of the Company at any time using the process contained in Article 93a of the UCITS Directive.
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UK investors: This document is intended for Professional Investors only. The Company is a Luxembourg registered UCITS, recognised in the UK under section 264 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. Compensation from the UK Financial Services Compensation Scheme will not be available in respect of the Fund. The taxation position affecting UK investors is outlined in the Prospectus. This document has been approved for issue in the United Kingdom by Mirae Asset Global Investments (UK) Ltd, a company incorporated in England & Wales with registered number 06044802, and having its registered office at 4th Floor, 4-6 Royal Exchange Buildings, London EC3V 3NL, United Kingdom. Mirae Asset Global Investments (UK) Ltd. is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority with firm reference number 467535.
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