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July 23, 2004
Sell-Side Analysts Confirm the Materiality of Sustainability Issues in UN Report
by William Baue
A United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative report documents belief in the
materiality of corporate social responsibility issues by 11 brokerage houses.
SocialFunds.com --
While many socially responsible investment (SRI) advocates view social, environmental, and
corporate governance issues as material to companies' stock performance, the mainstream investment
community has been slow on the uptake. However, the case for the tangible effects of these
intangible issues became stronger after last week's release of an important United Nations
Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEPFI) report.
 The UNEPFI Asset Management Working Group
(AMWG), a group of 12 asset management
firms spanning five continents, compiled the report. The working group
asked more than 50 brokerage houses globally to prepare a report (for free) on extra-financial
issues in one of seven sectors (later extended to eight). Specific issues covered include climate
change, occupational and public health, corporate governance and trust, and human, labor, and
political rights.
"The strength of this report is that it shows clearly that mainstream
sell-side analysts are beginning to see social and environmental aspects of company performance as
material to their financial value," said Barbara Krumsiek, CEO of the Calvert Group, an AMWG member. Other working group members
include Citigroup Asset
Management, UK-based Morley
Fund Management, Norway-based Storebrand
Investments, South Africa-based Old Mutual Asset
Managers, and Japan-based Nikko Asset Management.
While buy-side analysts' research is typically proprietary and affects internal
decision-making, sell-side analysts' research is typically more publicly available and hence exerts
a greater influence on investment markets. To date, buy-side analysts have been much more likely
to be aware of sustainability issues compared to sell-side analysts, a dynamic that increases the
significance of the report.
"Analysts, particularly on the sell side, have been so
short-term focused that long-run considerations of any magnitude are usually neglected," Ms.
Krumsiek told SocialFunds.com. "But eventually, the long-run factors impact the immediate results,
and companies that are well prepared will hold their value much better than the companies whose
efforts were dedicated to making the quarterly earnings estimates."
"However, this study
also illuminates the fact that methods to quantitatively value many social and environmental
criteria are lacking," Ms. Krumsiek added. "As well, the study covers a range of industries--from
pharmaceuticals to energy--suggesting that these criteria have relevance in all industries."
On the other side of the coin, the report also has its limitations.
"The weakness is
the relatively low participation in this report by US-based research analysts," said Ms. Krumsiek.
In fact, no North American brokerage houses participated.
"Those that responded
to the AMWG declined on the basis of a perceived difficulty in analysis due to barriers associated
with inadequate disclosure of these criteria . . . , internal restructuring, or a lack of research
capacity," the AMWG states in the report.
The report stresses the importance of
government regulation in driving the consideration of intangible issues in investment decisions.
Given the reluctance of the US government regulate corporate social and environmental issues (for
example by refusing to ratify the Kyoto protocol or enforce disclosure of material environmental
liabilities), the lack of US brokerage house participation is not surprising.
"We strongly
believe in a full and consistent disclosure of corporate social responsibility data by companies so
that they can be included in fundamental company analysis, where we believe they belong," said
Anthony Ling, a managing director at Goldman
Sachs, a brokerage house whose sector report received praise. "We see such
issues as being an integral part of successful management in the modern world and that they should
be taken into account in financial analysis and therefore investment considerations."
All
11 of the brokerage house reports find that social, environmental, and corporate governance issues
are relevant to long-term shareowner value. Other brokerage houses that prepared reports include
ABN AMRO Equities, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, NikkoCitigroup Japan, and WestLB.
"A critical next step will be the uptake and
implementation of the wide-ranging recommendations in the study by investors, analysts, and public
sector policy-makers," said Klaus Toepfer, executive director of UNEP.
Report
recommendations include urging companies to include social, environmental, and corporate
responsibility reporting in their annual reports and financial statements. It also urges
governments and regulatory bodies to require disclosure of such information and to update
definitions of fiduciary duty to cover such issues.
Going forward, the most significant
aspect of the AMWG's work is the establishment of a Responsible Investment Initiative tasked with
developing a set of globally recognized principles for responsible investment. The prominence of
the UN will carry weight in legitimizing and mainstreaming these principles.
"We do not
necessarily expect instant results, but even measured progress in incorporating social,
environmental and governance criteria in financial analyst reports can provide incentives to
corporations to perform as responsible citizens," concluded Ms. Krumsiek.
©
SRI World Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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