Societe Generale to support ESG reporting for French asset manager

Custodian to provide overview of Financière Arbevel's  financial investments from an ESG perspective.

By Jonathan Watkins
Societe Generale Securities Services has been selected by Financière Arbevel to support the production of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) reporting.

The service will provide the asset manager with an independent overview of its financial investments from an ESG perspective. 

“Implementing such criteria is both complicated and costly, especially as there are often a substantial number of companies to monitor in a portfolio,” said the French custodian bank in a statement.
 
Soc Gen’s ESG reports are based on MSCI methodology for assessing investments’ E, S, G factors and carbon footprint to understand portfolios’ performances from a non-financial perspective.

The agreement reflects a growing trend of asset managers identifying as ESG-compliant, with pressure from investors and regulators. Incoming EU regulations are likely to force asset managers to disclose their ESG practices to investor clients.

A proposal from the European Commission will look to bring standards, benchmarks and transparency to the emerging form of investing, which is increasingly becoming a factor in investment strategies for asset managers, pension funds and other buy-side institutions. 

A BNP Paribas survey from 2017 showed found 80% of asset managers were currently incorporating ESG strategies, but 40% of those currently market 25% of less of their funds as ESG.

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