ESG Advisory

Comprehensive, customised ESG services

We view the ESG journey as part of an ongoing process comprising five key areas: beliefs, policy, approach, implementation and accountability.

On Beliefs, Policy and Approach, we know the importance of defining beliefs and embedding them in a clear Responsible Investment policy. A detailed ESG Beliefs Questionnaire captures views from all stakeholders. This supports the development of policies, assessments and clear road maps.

On Implementation and Manager Research, we work with bfinance’s specialists in portfolio design, manager selection and due diligence. We have deep expertise in helping clients to express specific ESG needs in manager research. Using a proprietary ESG framework, we customise analysis to specific asset classes and client mandates.

On Accountability, we understand the value of rigorous scrutiny. Our ESG monitoring framework can be applied as an Annual Health Check or used on an ongoing or ad hoc basis. Top-down and bottom-up analysis complements reporting from existing ESG data providers, going deeper on managers’ processes and capabilities.

Who we work with

• Investors: We work with institutional investors, from initial due diligence through to ongoing portfolio management, providing the key to unlocking value and driving long-term sustainable growth across portfolios.
• Businesses and Industries: We support investors on their ESG journey, helping them meet the growing demands of both internal and external stakeholders while fostering opportunities that promote sustainability and long-term value creation.
• Public Sector: We partner with governments and public organisations to implement ESG best practices, enhancing resilience and sustainability for increased positive community impact.

How we help our clients

Our institutional investor clients use a wide variety of ESG approaches and have different priorities. They are also at different stages on their respective paths, ranging from ‘first movers’ to those taking their first steps now. For investors who are seeking to make fundamental changes, such as introducing a new Responsible Investment Policy, it can be overwhelming to consider the variety of issues involved and structure an effective process. Meanwhile, investors with well-established ESG approaches seek to assess, refine, innovate and even push the industry to develop new investment strategies to address their ESG or impact concerns.

• Understand your ESG beliefs and translate them into strategy: In this rapidly evolving space, our detailed ESG Beliefs Questionnaire enables asset owners to capture the views of multiple stakeholders and gain consensus on the direction of travel. This supports the development of policies, assessments, and clear road maps for action.
• Implement your policy when selecting managers: We have deep expertise in helping clients express specific ESG needs in selecting managers across all public and private market asset classes and aligning your overall portfolio to ESG commitments.
• Hold asset managers to account: Our ESG monitoring framework can be applied as an Annual Health Check or used on an ongoing or ad-hoc basis. It provides both ‘top-down’ and ‘bottom-up’ (holdings-level) analysis on subjects such as climate change exposures, ESG risks, stewardship activity and impact. We leverage ESG data from established providers and scrutinise managers' processes, with client-specific expectations in mind.

Our commitment to ESG and sustainability

We are dedicated to empowering investors at every stage of their responsible investment journey. Our approach emphasises:

• Upholding integrity and the highest ethical standards in all our practices.
• Supporting our clients in addressing climate change and achieving Net Zero through tailored investment consultancy services.
• Promoting the integration of ESG, sustainability, and impact across all asset classes.
• Providing clarity amidst the ESG marketing noise and box-ticking prevalent in the industry.

To learn more about our ESG commitments, please see our complete ESG and Sustainability page.