In the context of the Italy Corporate Governance Conference held today at Borsa Italiana Tommaso Corcos, CEO of Eurizon and President of Assogestioni, declared that “the phenomenon of responsible social investment has reached increasingly significant dimensions in the global financial context, becoming a key part of the asset allocation process of major institutional investors. In 2016, investments according to ESG criteria involved 22.900 trillion dollars, or about a third of professionally managed assets”
Since 2007 (with the first Shareholder Rights Directive) and through the post-crisis regulations, rights and, consequently, powers have increased for shareholders. This phase was partly guided
the revision of some Corporate Governance codes and the introduction of Stewardship codes in many international jurisdictions. The forthcoming implementation of the revision of the Shareholder Rights Directive in European states will bring investors more rights, but also more responsibilities.
Today there is more and more awareness that investing in a "sustainable" way leads to better long-term results: in fact, more than 70 empirical studies have been published since the beginning of the 2000s on the relationship between ESG criteria and companies' financial results , most of which have shown that there is a correlation
positive.
The modern understanding of the role of asset managers goes beyond simple comparison with a benchmark. A manager can be a responsible actor on the financial markets, attentive to results
social and financial products of its decisions. It can exert a positive influence on the companies it invests in, which goes beyond the simple allocation of resources on the markets. The main lesson that can be drawn from financial crises is that companies, both as investors and as listed companies, must favor a
perspective aimed at creating value in the long term.
Within the management activity, for example in Eurizon, we look for investment opportunities that allow us to support the development of innovative companies that can make a difference, while aiming to offer good long-term results for our clients.
Our next goal is to take it to the next level by improving the standards of use of ESG criteria in the markets.
With the adoption of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), we enter a phase of sustainable development where every organization, regardless of geographical location, sector or size, operates
according to a shared responsibility. These 2030 goals offer a common language to drive the impact of investments.
