The S & P / BMV Total México ESG Index, designed to measure the performance of stocks that meet sustainability criteria, accumulates an advance of 14.51% so far this year, similar to the performance of the S & P / BMV IPC stock index.
Even the return that the index reflects from January to Friday, December 3, is much higher than the end of the whole of last year, when it generated a growth of 1.50%, which reflects that more and more investors seek to increase their exposure to companies that reflect a greater commitment to environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations in their portfolios, among other aspects.
José-Oriol Bosch, general director of the Mexican Stock Exchange (BMV), commented that there are several companies listed in the stock market that work on these issues and that they mean “a unique opportunity” to channel resources from investors to projects that seek reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
He even highlighted that the stock market plays a central role in ESG investment sources. An alternative is thematic bonds, such as green, social, sustainable and those linked to sustainability, which already represent 300,000 million pesos. Since the first issue in 2016 to date, 68 placements have been registered.
Interest grows
In its recent survey, Natixis IM, one of the world’s largest asset managers, shows that 21% of individual investors currently employ ESG investment strategies, while 24% invested under this approach for the first time in the last year and another 33% who had already done so increased their positions.
However, 49% of those who have not yet invested in ASG affirm that they are interested in learning more about the subject.
“As the adoption of ESG strategies becomes more widespread and investors become more knowledgeable about these instruments, interest increases and is reinforced by the positive returns generated by these strategies,” said Nathalie Wallace, Global Head of Sustainable Investing at Natixis IM.
Mauricio Giordano, CEO of Natixis IM Mexico, commented that “more and more investors believe that all parties involved should participate in the investment process, including financial advisers and fund managers. This is just one example of the potential for ESG investing to become a critical investment decision. “
The S & P / BMV Total México ESG gives an exposure to 29 companies in the Mexican stock market that stand out for their actions and strategies based on these principles.
Among them are Cementos Mexicanos, the restaurant operator Alsea, the bottling company Coca-Cola FEMSA, Grupo Bimbo and Walmart de México y Centroamérica. It also integrates real estate trusts such as Fibra Uno.
ESG investing considers the strategies or actions that a company follows to deal with risks related to climate change. In the social part, it focuses on the relationships they maintain with employees, suppliers, clients and communities in which it operates and in corporate governance, the structure of the companies is classified, for example, its board of directors and gender inclusion, as well as the stakeholder alignment.
Reference-www.eleconomista.com.mx