Advocacy Talking Points 4 August 2020
ESG in Fixed Income
Webinar Series: ESG in Credit - Part 1
Presented by CFA Institute and Fitch Ratings
Webinar Presentation: ESG in Fixed Income
Download PDFOverview
The remarkable growth of interest in ESG investing has created a demand for ESG products and services that cater to the needs of asset owners and investment managers. Although initially the focus was on equities, the much bigger fixed income market has also attracted an increased interest of ESG investors. It covers a broad range of products: financial and non-financial corporate bonds, public finance, project finance, and structured debt. Asset owners are the main drivers behind this change. They started implementing responsible investment practices, such as screening for ESG factors, in their fixed income portfolios at the beginning of this century. As a knock-on effect of this process, early and late adopters have started exploring advantages of ESG investing in risk management and in attracting and retaining clients.
This CFA Institute webinar inaugurates a series of talks on ESG in credit. In the first webinar, we address the following questions:
- How does ESG affect credit risk and how is this reflected in credit ratings?
- How do fixed income investors integrate ESG?
Speakers:
- Mervyn Tang, CFA, Global HEad of Fitch Ratings ESG Research
- Mary Leung, CFA, Head, Advocacy Asia-Pacific, CFA Institute
Watch the Webinar
Duration: 1 hr 4 min.
Recorded: 4 August 2020.
Webinar Series: ESG in Credit:
- Part 2: ESG Integration in Fixed Income in Practice, 17 November 2020
- Part 3: Green, Social, and Sustainability Bonds, 2 March 2021
- Part 4: ESG Integration in Sovereign Bonds, 25 May 2021
Presenters
Mervyn Tang is a Senior Director and Global Head of ESG Research in Fitch Ratings’ Sustainable Finance division, based in Hong Kong. Mervyn oversees a global research team of 5 which primarily focus on thematic and cross sector ESG research. Mervyn re-joined Fitch Ratings in March 2019 from MSCI Inc., where he was Head of Fixed Income in their ESG Research department, based in Hong Kong. Mervyn has worked with fixed income investors globally supporting them on integrating ESG into their investment process. Prior to joining MSCI in 2017, Mervyn was a Director in Fitch’s Sovereign Group, with the Asia-Pacific team. Mervyn has also worked as an international economist at the Bank of England in London, a diplomat at the British Embassy in Washington DC, and an equities analyst at Citigroup. Mervyn earned an MSc in Economics with distinction from Birkbeck College, University of London, and a BA in Economics and Management from Oxford University. He is a CFA Charterholder.
Mary Leung, CFA, is the head, standards and advocacy, Asia Pacific, at CFA Institute. She is responsible for the development, maintenance, and promotion of capital markets policy perspectives in the APAC region. She also oversees the promotion and development of CFA Institute professional standards in the region. Mary has over 20 years of experience in the global financial industry, having worked in corporate finance, wealth management advisory, and fund management. Previously, she was with Coutts & Co, where she was director of Business Development and Management for North Asia. Prior to that she was executive director at UBS AG, where she led the Corporate Advisory Group in Hong Kong. With experience in both the buy- and sell-sides, Mary has a strong understanding of the drivers and dynamics of different investor groups, including institutional investors, corporates, family offices, asset owners, and high-net-worth individuals. Mary graduated from Peterhouse, Cambridge with a degree in Engineering. She is a CFA charterholder and speaks English, Putonghua, and Cantonese.