‘Sustainable Transformation Accelerator’, Novethic, announced on Thursday that it has launched ‘MARKET DATA’, a quarterly summary of three trends within the European sustainable funds market.
The organization said that the three thematic Market Data publications are based on ‘in-depth’ research and new additions to the Novethic databases. It added that investors will benefit from the quarterly summary, and its mapping and analysis of responsible investment products (SRIs).
With the demand for ESG growing from individual and institutional investors, and regulatory pressure mounting, the number of funds classifying as sustainable is ‘continuously multiplying’, according to Novethic. To protect consumers and fund managers from greenwash marketing campaigns, Market Data seeks to separate pretenders from those that have sustainable transformation at the heart of their business model.
Novethic says that its reliable and qualified data will help investors to address sustainable funds from three angles: Green Funds Europe, Sustainable Labels Europe, and Sustainable Funds France.
On Green Funds Europe, the organization says that the growing number of supposedly eco-friendly funds come in ‘different shades of green’ and that investors often struggle to separate the wheat from the chaff. Its analysis considers the evolution of the sector, for stance: the number of funds on the market, their environmental characteristics, and impact indicators. It then analyses the individual wording, documentation, and verifies whether each fund has an investment strategy that explicitly focuses on the environment and climate.
Its Sustainable Labels Europe publication acknowledges the attempt by the financial sector to ‘normalise’ the market with their sustainable finance labels. This analysis is similar to the previous publication in the areas it covers, but focuses mainly on listed investment funds, and excludes unlisted funds, savings products and insurance funds.
Finally, and unsurprisingly, the Sustainable Funds France publication focuses on the sustainability credentials of French UCITS funds, excluding employee investment funds.
Concluding its statement, the organization said: “As a long-time observer of the responsible investment market, Novethic has reviewed best market practices since 2004, comparing fund strategies and carrying out studies to identify best practices and compare different approaches. Following the publication of the French Responsible Investment Market Figures and the Novethic Indicator for Sustainable Funds available to individual investors, the launch of Market Data helps us support a new stage in the development of sustainable finance by offering accurate and reliable market data.”