The Edge: Creating Your Own ESG Portfolio

This article begins by addressing difficulties Malaysian investors face in creating a diverse stock portfolio that adheres to environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles. 

Ian notes that many Malaysian investors are still focused on returns, adding that he believes ESG is the future although it is too early to draw any real conclusions yet. Currently, he relies on basing the general performance of the fund house and how it is doing against the benchmark to determine how good the fund is, as the fund itself does not have sufficient historical data yet. 

A majority of investors that Ian has spoken to would prefer to wait and see how ESG pans out first. Ian expects that it will take some time for ESG investing to take off as companies in developing countries may have more limited resources to transform compared to those in developed countries. 

This article can be found online here.