Alpha-Centric ESG Research

Kyle Rudden

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

<ul><li>New SGX climate-related disclosure requirements based on ISSB's standards are more stringent than current requirements, most notably regarding mandatory Scope 3 emissions reporting.</li><li>The implications for S-REITs are significant. Real Estate is one of the most emissions-intensive sectors, and Scope 3 emissions comprise 85-95% of total emissions for real estate companies.</li><li>Motivated by a strong "business case" for best-in-class climate performance and transparency, many S-REITs are ahead of the curve, evidenced by prominence in climate-related indexes.</li></ul>

New SGX climate-related disclosure requirements based on ISSB's standards are more stringent than current requirements, most notably regarding mandatory Scope 3 emissions reporting.The implications for S-REITs are significant. Real Estate is one of the most emissions-intensive sectors, and Scope 3 emissions comprise 85-95% of total emissions for real estate companies.Motivated by a strong "business case" for best-in-class climate performance and transparency, many S-REITs are ahead of the curve, evidenced by prominence in climate-related indexes.

S-REITs: Climate Disclosures and Inclusion in ESG-Related Equity Indexes

Singapore Exchange Limited owns and operates Singapore's Securities and derivatives exchange and their related clearing houses.  The Company also provides ancillary securities processing and information technology services to participants in the financial sector.

<ul>
<li>Absolute value of index-linked assets is the ultimate measure of market share, but it misses an important aspect of the ESG-related indexing market – i.e., relative market share growth.</li>
<li>A category of ESG index providers that leads vis-à-vis relative growth is exchange-owned ESG index providers, a group which currently accounts for US$46.3 billion in indexed assets.</li>
<li>Asian exchange-owned ESG indexers are the clear leaders in that subcategory, with <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/singapore-exchange-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:1047:1" rel="noopener">Singapore Exchange (SGX SP)</a> and Korea Exchange leading that cohort with double-digit growth.</li>
</ul>


Absolute value of index-linked assets is the ultimate measure of market share, but it misses an important aspect of the ESG-related indexing market – i.e., relative market share growth.
A category of ESG index providers that leads vis-à-vis relative growth is exchange-owned ESG index providers, a group which currently accounts for US$46.3 billion in indexed assets.
Asian exchange-owned ESG indexers are the clear leaders in that subcategory, with Singapore Exchange (SGX SP) and Korea Exchange leading that cohort with double-digit growth.


Singapore Exchange, Korea Exchange Lead Exchange-Owned ESG Indexer Growth

MSCI Inc. provides investment decision support tools to investment institutions worldwide. The Company produces indices and risk and return portfolio analytics for use in managing investment portfolios.

<ul>
<li>Despite the rough market for ESG-related indexed funds recently, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/msci-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:17865:1" rel="noopener">MSCI (MSCI US)</a> continues to increase its market share and solidify its already dominant position as the top indexer.</li>
<li>MSCI ESG-related indexes currently have a 67% (and still growing) market share of the overall ESG indexing ecosystem with nearly US$250 billion in index-linked ETF assets globally.</li>
<li>MSCI's dominant market position is even stronger in important ESG niches/verticals, and two in particular: 1) climate change-focused indexes, and 2) Asia-Pacific ESG markets.</li>
</ul>


Despite the rough market for ESG-related indexed funds recently, MSCI (MSCI US) continues to increase its market share and solidify its already dominant position as the top indexer.
MSCI ESG-related indexes currently have a 67% (and still growing) market share of the overall ESG indexing ecosystem with nearly US$250 billion in index-linked ETF assets globally.
MSCI's dominant market position is even stronger in important ESG niches/verticals, and two in particular: 1) climate change-focused indexes, and 2) Asia-Pacific ESG markets.


MSCI ESG Indexes Gaining in Market Share Despite ESG's Recent "Bear Market"

<ul>
<li>The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) recently launched a public consultation regarding a Code of Conduct for ESG ratings providers and ESG data product providers in Singapore.</li>
<li>It is the right approach for Singapore – a voluntary best-practices framework furthering one of the world's most credible "green" economies, not a regulatory force-fix of something broken.</li>
<li>No surprise ratings methodology changes. No en masse upgrades/downgrades. No acute shocks to the system. Just slow and steady progress for ESG investing and finance in Singapore.</li>
</ul>


The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) recently launched a public consultation regarding a Code of Conduct for ESG ratings providers and ESG data product providers in Singapore.
It is the right approach for Singapore – a voluntary best-practices framework furthering one of the world's most credible "green" economies, not a regulatory force-fix of something broken.
No surprise ratings methodology changes. No en masse upgrades/downgrades. No acute shocks to the system. Just slow and steady progress for ESG investing and finance in Singapore.


Singapore Code of Conduct for ESG Ratings Is Less Risk and More Reward

<ul>
<li>Whatever one calls it – a boom-going-bust, a bubble bursting, a market correcting – the ESG party that has raged for years appears to be winding down for certain investors.</li>
<li>Some partygoers have over-indulged in the ESG Kool-Aid, and regulators have the perfect elixir to sober them up – new and often confusing "anti-greenwashing" investing regulations.</li>
<li>Particularly consequential for indexed ESG funds.  Index providers and asset managers struggle to comply, evidenced by recent methodology changes, reconstitutions, and fund closings.</li>
</ul>


Whatever one calls it – a boom-going-bust, a bubble bursting, a market correcting – the ESG party that has raged for years appears to be winding down for certain investors.
Some partygoers have over-indulged in the ESG Kool-Aid, and regulators have the perfect elixir to sober them up – new and often confusing "anti-greenwashing" investing regulations.
Particularly consequential for indexed ESG funds.  Index providers and asset managers struggle to comply, evidenced by recent methodology changes, reconstitutions, and fund closings.


Boom, Bust, Reboot, Rebalance: ESG Index Funds And "Greenwashing" Regulations

I am an ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) analyst with an alpha-centric approach to ESG research. After all, ESG investing is, first and foremost, investing. "Alpha-centric" does not mean apathetic, however. Quite the contrary. I believe global sustainability – i.e., environmental stewardship, social equality, and economic prosperity – is imperative, and private-sector capital is its cornerstone. Private-sector capital still has fiduciary responsibilities. Profitability is necessary for sustained impact. The Triple Bottom Line. People, Planet, AND Profit.

More importantly, you. I value your investment in Smartkarma research, and commit to Insights worthy of your time and money. That means giving ASEAN ESG the attention it deserves, and with Insights that are substantive and differentiated; the intersection of material and under-covered. You can expect investigative research into emergent ESG issues; data-driven analyses of deals (pre-IPO ESG research, ESG-focused M&A consequence analyses, etc.); and trading-oriented ideas like ESG short selling and playing ESG index constituency changes.

I bring both ESG expertise and traditional investing experience, as well as some rather unique perspectives on ESG (a lesson in governance from Enron, anyone?). I spent the last decade exclusively on ESG, researching links to equity returns, credit ratings, cost of capital, and yield spreads. I also contributed to ESG reporting standards (SASB and GRI), and the MBA curriculum (Impact Investing) at the Kellogg School of Management. Previously, I was an Institutional Investor and Wall Street Journal All-Star sell-side analyst at J.P. Morgan.

Please, feel free to contact me about anything.