Afore XXI Banorte and the Banorte Fund Operator will promote the investment criteria issued by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), as stated by Alejandro Aguilar Ceballos, general director of the Banorte Fund Operator. Banorte Funds in an interview with El Economista.
He mentioned that ISSB aims to develop global reference standards that respond to the needs of investors and, of course, the financial markets.
The initiative promotes access by institutional investors to standardized and better quality ESG (Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance) information for decision-making.
“Finally, the Initiative arrives in Latin America supported by institutions that have signed the UN Principles for Responsible Investment. The Council is even promoted by the IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards Foundation) and has the support of the World Economic Forum, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the OECD”, he said.
He commented that one of the problems they currently have is that the information published by issuers is not standardized and “many of the efforts end up being a bit artisanal and it is costly to be able to make objective comparisons where the company or the issuer is with respect to another in terms of sustainability.
Products
Thematic investment funds linked to ESG are already operating in the industry, the resources have been growing, despite the volatility that the financial markets present, he said.
The ESG fund that Banorte launched is owned by individuals and at the end of 2021 it was worth 2,000 million pesos. “Growth of this magnitude and so resilient to changes in the markets had not been seen. We do not rule out launching another ESG fund, a debt fund”, concluded Alejandro Aguilar Ceballos.