Amundi says it’s expecting to see more inflows as a result of what it describes as ongoing adjustments in institutional mandates triggered by a growing desire to manage climate risk.
According to a report by Singapore’s Business Times, Europe’s largest money manager, which last month reported a record 2.3 trillion euros (S$3.2 trillion) of assets under management, is already seeing the benefits of its focus on climate.
According to Jean-Jacques Barberis, Amundi’s head of institutional, corporate clients and environment, social and governance (ESG). An emphasis on sustainability has become “a differentiating element to conquer more business on the institutional side”, Barberis said in an interview. “We remain extremely confident.”
How asset managers handle sustainability issues such as climate and equal pay is turning into a litmus test for a growing number of long-term investors.
In Europe, Dutch pensions fund PFZW recently reassigned listed-equities mandates worth more than US$60 billion, citing sustainability as a key factor. Managers to have lost PFZW contracts in the process include BlackRock and AQR Capital Management.
