ESG integration for macro investors
Mark Nash, Huw Davies and James Novotny explain how they integrate ESG into their macro investment process.
A key part of our ESG integration is Jupiter’s Sovereign Framework. The framework scores each sovereign from 0 to 10, considering their performance on E, S and G outcomes (G has a 50% weighting as we believe strong governance is key). If a sovereign scores poorly then it is excluded from our investment universe. The aim is not to penalise developing nations or regions, but to avoid investing in nations with unsustainable governance structures, that are falling behind in the low carbon transition or failing to uphold human rights. This overlay is particularly important when adding emerging market (EM) exposure.
The sovereign framework is not used in isolation: we also conduct qualitative research on all major sovereign bond holdings, which provides a more holistic and timely perspective. A good example was when Australia last year elected a much more climate friendly administration, one that immediately updated its Nationally Determined Contribution – a significant positive environmental development, that was yet to be reflected within the data. To ensure our research is rigorous and robust, we discuss our findings with Jupiter’s stewardship team at monthly sovereign meetings. Sovereigns may also be excluded following our research, as was the case with Russia.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, we recognised that we will not always be able to identify mispriced ESG risks through the sovereign framework and our qualitative research alone. So we additionally introduced a human rights and low carbon transition screen, and provided a greater margin of safety for any new holdings.
Sovereign ESG integration is of course more difficult given the greater complexities involved, not least an inability to engage with key stakeholders, which is why we strive to continuously improve our process. Recent improvements include enhanced sovereign ESG data and automating our sovereign templates thanks to Jupiter’s data science team. That said, we expect our process to improve and develop further over time, as more industry guidance and data becomes available.
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A key feature of Jupiter’s investment approach is that we eschew the adoption of a house view, instead preferring to allow our specialist fund managers to formulate their own opinions on their asset class. As a result, it should be noted that any views expressed – including on matters relating to environmental, social and governance considerations – are those of the author(s), and may differ from views held by other Jupiter investment professionals.
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