The Association of Investment Companies (AIC) has published its members’ ESG disclosures on its website.
The free-form disclosures are available on member companies’ profile pages and appear alongside existing information such as performance data and portfolio holdings. They can be updated at any time.
So far 63% of AIC members have submitted an ESG disclosure, representing 68% of members’ assets.
In publishing their ESG disclosures, investment companies can explain their approaches, from how they engage with investee companies, to their integration of ESG principles in investment selection.
Companies will be able to state for example whether they have adopted or signed up to sustainability initiatives such as the UN Principles for Responsible Investment or Sustainable Development Goals. They will also be able to explain whether they actively exclude specific sectors, for example tobacco or gambling.
CEO Ian Sayers said: “The AIC has seen a rapid increase in enquiries from private investors, advisers and wealth managers wanting to find out more about the ESG credentials of investment companies. Investment companies’ report and accounts already contain valuable information on ESG strategies, but we wanted to make it even easier for investors to find ESG criteria alongside other data they use to inform their investment decisions.”
To find out more about the AIC’s plans for publishing ESG disclosures, you can read a comment piece from communications director Annabel Brodie-Smith (pictured) in ESG Clarity’s January digital magazine.
