
Consulting services on ESG integration for asset managers
The new ESG requirements of investors and supervisory authorities have a significant impact on the entire value chain in asset management. Sales as well as front, middle and back office functions are affected by ESG requirements. In addition, there will be demand for other products or products modified by ESG integration in the future – financial services providers should revise their offering accordingly.
To ensure that sustainability contributes to achieving the company’s objectives, it is imperative to include ESG in the strategy process. After all, profit-oriented ESG integration into asset management can only succeed if a common understanding of the level of ambition and a suitable development path are defined. In order to anchor sustainability permanently in the corporate culture, employees and managers must be trained and, above all, convinced. Sustainability should be the “new normal” in both professional and private life.
In addition, regulatory requirements need to be assessed and integrated – with the availability of ESG data in particular becoming a significant driver. Efficient implementation requires a holistic concept along the value chain, and
- the selection of a data provider as a “golden source” with which all requirements from portfolio and risk management to reporting can be covered, or
- a differentiated approach that combines different, specialized ESG data providers for different asset classes and ESG strategies and, where appropriate, can also include the company’s own as well as public ESG data analyses.
- Review of the existing ESG strategy/implementation
- Competitor analyses and benchmarking
- Derivation of ESG positioning
Contact: Wolfgang Schlaffer, Partner
- Selection and, where appropriate, combination of relevant ESG strategies (exclusions, norm-based screening, positive criteria, thematic funds, impact investing, best-in-class, outperformance-oriented ESG integration in mainstream assets, engagement through voting and/or dialogs)
- Early identification and monitoring of emerging asset management-specific standards for relevant material ESG KPIs for integration in the investment process
- ESG data decision: External sourcing and/or in-house securities research with ESG analysts and/or conventional securities analysts; use of ESG-oriented broker research, Bloomberg terminals, CRAs, etc.
- Integration into active, passive, quantitative investment processes for retail, private wealth and/or institutional clients
- Head of Product Development/CPO: ESG product design and business model optimization
- Analysis of the product and service portfolio – identification of growth potential based on target client definition
- Development of target offer and product design (products, services, pricing)
- Business model-specific business case
Contact: Dr. Carsten Wittrock, Partner
- Analysis of the initial situation
- Determination of ambition level by means of innovative methods, integration into corporate strategy
- Derivation of needs for action for implementation
Contact: Manuel Hobisch, Senior Manager
- Compliance with the EU Taxonomy Regulation
- Compliance with the German associations’ “typology for sustainable financial instruments on the ESG target market” (MiFID II)
- Compliance with the EU Disclosure Regulation (SFDR)
- Compliance with the EU Benchmark Regulation (regarding ESG supplements and carbon benchmarks)
Contact: Julian Schmeing, Manager
- Impact analysis along the value chain
- Identification and prioritization of fields of action
- Integration into existing process and structural organization as well as IT
Contact: Manuel Hobisch, Senior Manager
- Inclusion of a defined ESG strategy
- Development of a communication and training concept
- Support during the rollout phase and regular in-house checks
- Development and implementation of optimization measures
Contact: Manuel Hobisch, Senior Manager