PwC’s Luxembourg office has partnered with a San Francisco fintech firm, IdealRatings, to offer services for funds that ethically invest.
The firms intend to provide asset managers and service providers with compliance services relating to investment policies, controls, screening methods and reporting mechanisms for funds.
The services will bring “new and innovative services” in the field of screening ethical, environmental and Islamic investments.
Responsible investing has been growing in popularity in recent years, PwC said, and investors are requiring greater control over categorising these investments.
“In this context, development of social responsible investments using a specific label to recognise these investments would increase undoubtedly the transparency and attractiveness for the investors,” the firms said.
François Génaux, financial services consulting leader at PwC Luxembourg, said joining forces with IdealRatings will help deliver the right strategy for market players.
“In particular, we’ll be able to screen their investment universe against related market standards and customise guidelines applied on different asset classes whether they are equities, fixed income, Reits [real estate investment trusts] or indexes,” he said.
Luxembourg already has an existing labeling firm, LuxFlag, which specialises in funds with a social or environmental focus.
The funds industry in Luxembourg has ambitions to become a major global centre for responsible investment. The Grand Duchy was the location recently for the first sovereign issue on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange’s green bonds platform.
Further afield, index providers MSCI and fund ratings firm Morningstar also separately entered the responsible investment fund ratings market last year.
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