(23 October 2020 – Singapore) Asset manager Schroders announced plans to accelerate its sustainability initiatives across the Asia Pacific from Singapore, in anticipation of growing demand for sustainability-focused strategies catalysed by the coronavirus pandemic.
Schroders will establish a Centre of Excellence for Sustainability (CoES) in Singapore, which will house a team of senior environmental, social and governance (ESG) specialists and serve as an ESG education hub for training to upskill the ESG capabilities of Schroders' staff in the region.
This education hub will also be open to industry partners across the broader finance ecosystem, and will host training programmes for both local and regional clients.
“The dedicated senior resources will play a pivotal role in driving Asia-focused ESG research insights, innovation and impact across the region, drawing from our thought leadership in sustainability,” said Schroders.
Additionally, BlueOrchard, a subsidiary of Schroders, will centralise all Asia Pacific activities in Singapore, transforming the local operation into a regional investment research and business hub.
“Investors today choose to vote with their own pockets, and we have seen heightened inflows of funds towards ESG causes and investments globally. We expect the momentum to spill over to Asia, as capital reallocation will create interesting investment opportunities for our institutional and intermediary clients. As we speak, we already see clients in Asia looking to enhance their ESG alignment and deliver positive impact whilst generating returns,” said Schroders co-head of Asia Pacific and Singapore CEO Susan Soh.