iAtoday

Once considered a specialized niche with a limited amount of assets under management, sustainable investing now represents a very significant share of the Canadian professionally managed asset market. In fact, data gathered by the Canadian Institutional Investment Network in its 2023 Canadian Responsible Investment Trends Report show that it represented 49% of the market in 2022.

The importance of ESG factors

When it comes to responsible investment, fund managers employ a variety of strategies, the most widely used of which is the integration of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into their decision-making processes. Therefore, we are interested in how the fund managers who make up our investment platform carry out this integration and adopt the best practices recommended by bodies such as the United Nations PRI, Climate Action 100+ and Net Zero Asset Managers.

A tool to assess the ESG practices

Our team of specialists has established its own grid to assess the ESG integration – and progress in this respect – of each fund manager.

In concrete terms, we analyze various elements related to these five pillars:

• Corporate culture
• ESG resources
• Integration in the investment process
• Shareholder engagement
• Improvements

We then assign each firm an overall score that reflects its level of integration of ESG practices.

Although each rating is a subjective qualitative assessment aimed at analyzing the extent of ESG integration throughout the company, we believe this provides you with a basis for better understanding how fund managers approach ESG and active ownership issues.

To consult the brochure, please contact your Account Executive.