环境, social and governance (“ESG”) factors have become increasingly important to corporations and their investors.
The International Valuation Standards Council (“IVSC”) released a report earlier this year on ESG factors and their impact on business valuation.1 Part of the report focuses on a study performed by Morningstar that indicated that open-end and exchange-traded funds investing in ESG-minded companies have often outperformed otherwise similar funds without an ESG focus. 具体地说, 59% of sustainable funds that have survived over the last 10 years have outperformed the average surviving traditional fund with otherwise similar investment criteria. 除了, 72% of sustainable funds were still available to investors 10 years later, 相比之下,传统基金只有46%.
The report shows that sustainable funds often delivered higher returns during the economic downturn created by 新型冠状病毒肺炎 in the first quarter of 2020. The following factors were noted as likely causes for these higher returns exhibited by the sustainable funds:
• ESG-focused companies tend to enjoy more conservative balance sheets and competitive advantages, 是什么让它们在市场低迷时更有弹性.
• Companies that score high on ESG also tend to be well-run businesses that treat all their stakeholders fairly, 应对环境挑战, 争议的程度也更低.
新型冠状病毒肺炎 has forced most management teams to evolve each day to improve their governance structures. 新型冠状病毒肺炎, coupled with increased environmental disasters and widespread social unrest, caused 2020 to be a natural time for many companies to adopt ESG frameworks. 即使在2019年,10家公司中有9家在美国上市&标普500编制了可持续发展报告.
Although most organizations agree on the importance of ESG factors on value creation, 简洁的指导, 缺乏关于这一主题的度量和标准. 为了满足这一需求, the IFRS Foundation has begun to seek input on the need for international ESG standards. 其他组织, including the CFA Institute and the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (“EFRAG”), 也开始制定ESG标准了吗.
Some stakeholders argue that ESG disclosures are nonfinancial in nature and would not impact the financial statements. 然而, increasing numbers of investors are asking questions like the following to assess the long-term viability of a potential investment:
•业务会受到气候变化和监管的影响吗?
• Are the business’s social practices and policies conducive to attracting and retaining quality customers and employees?
• Is the business’s governance environment able to handle future challenges?
The IVSC report shows that ESG factors impact all stakeholders of any business. Studies show that implementing an effective ESG framework may also result in increased business value because ESG considerations contribute to sustainable financial performance and the mitigation of future risks. bet9游戏平台 has significant experience consulting with clients to increase the value of their business and preparing business valuations for a wide range of purposes. 欲了解更多有关 施耐德唐斯的商业估值 and other business advisory services, please contact Joel Rosenthal at 412.697.5387 or (电子邮件保护) 或者412的史蒂夫·西蒙斯.697.5281 or (电子邮件保护).
1 http://www.morningstar.com/content/dam/marketing/emea/shared/guides/ESG_Fund_Performance_2020.pdf