RIAA ESG award winners announced


Research into environmental, social and governance (ESG) by Credit Suisse and Citi are among winners in the annual ESG Research Australia awards run by the Responsible Investment Association Australasia (RIAA).
The awards aimed to inform and drive more responsible investment in Australia and topics covered included modern slavery, climate change and human rights, with the RIAA saying the ‘social’ part of ESG was gaining more presence.
“We saw a significant increase in the number of pieces of research nominated this year, reflecting the ever-increasing focus on ESG from brokers and investors alike,” said Simon O’Connor, chief executive of the RIAA and chair of ESG Research Australia.
“The uptick in research focused on issues surrounding modern slavery, human and labour rights, and First Nations peoples’ rights mirrors prominent events that have taken place over the last 12 months like the destruction of Juukan Gorge, the first reports under the Modern Slavery Act, and of course COVID-19.”
The winners of this year’s ESG Research Australia Awards were:
- Best Piece of New ESG Research:
Nothing to lose but chains – A modern take on slavery for investors, by Zoe Whitton and Edward McKinnon, Citi
- Best Piece of Ongoing ESG Research:
CEO incentives and analyst expectations, by Sameer Chopra et al., Bank of America Merrill Lynch
- Best ESG Broking Firm:
Credit Suisse
- Best Piece of Investor Relevant ESG Research (non-broking firm):
Labour Hire and Contracting Across the ASX100, by Dr Katie Hepworth, Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility.
Recommended for you
ASIC has banned a Queensland adviser from providing financial services for five years after failing to provide appropriate advice that was in the best interest of his clients.
Minister for Financial Services, Stephen Jones, has said it is not a “backdoor attempt” by the government to allow the new class of adviser to provide full advice.
The financial advice industry has seen a net loss after 10 consecutive weeks of net growth in adviser numbers, according to Wealth Data.
Only 11 per cent of financial advice practices have said they are including crypto products on their approved products lists, according to CoreData.