Barclays Adds ESG Assessment To Fundamental Research

Barclays Research is enhancing its franchise with the launch of ESG Fundamental Research, leveraging the existing fundamental expertise of our analysts as well as external data sources to highlight the environmental, social and governance impact of companies under coverage by Barclays’ analysts.

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“Prior to the outbreak of Covid-19, finance was already at a tipping point, where the integration of sustainability concerns was becoming the norm,” explains Jeff Meli, Global Head of Research. “Today’s launch of Barclays’ Fundamental ESG Research is an opportunity to reflect on whether Covid-19 will accelerate this trend even further – creating a greater sense of urgency and responsibility toward everything from consumer behavior to climate change, supply-chain practices and the future of work and mobility – and potentially alter the nature of the investment process as a result.”

Barclays’ new Fundamental ESG Research will offer clients a multi-dimensional analysis of where the companies Barclays covers sit on the spectrum of ESG performance, leveraging the existing research expertise of fundamental analysts to assess how ESG attributes affect financial risks and valuations. On a sector by sector basis, starting this month, Barclays Fundamental ESG Research will launch fundamental research reports that incorporate the new ESG assessment and indicators for each company under coverage.

Barclays Research will:

• generate a set of indicators (a five-point scale for environmental, social and governance) derived from aggregated indicators of leading ESG providers
• seek to deepen understanding of a company’s ESG credentials by identifying divergence in views between Barclays analysts and that of leading ESG indicator providers
• evaluate perceived ESG risk, and assess the impact of ESG considerations on security pricing
• produce stand-alone reports on key topics and themes that apply this new ESG framework to industries as diverse as Oil & Gas, Pharmaceuticals, Airlines and Autos, all of which are likely to experience fundamental shifts as Covid-19 unfolds

The new offering will complement the two existing pillars of Barclays ESG Research: our Sustainable & Thematic team whose reports track how consumer and regulatory attitudes to ESG are changing operating environments, and our Quantitative Portfolio Strategy team who have produced groundbreaking reports on how ESG factors impact asset performance.

Source: Barclays