RiskMetrics (through ISS Governance Services) provides corporate governance data and we subscribe their Directors Data through WRDS:

RiskMetrics. Directors data request [electrionic resource].

http://library.hku.hk/record=b4187090

You may also wish to find that they provide the following ESG update now:

2013 ESG Trends to Watch

If there is one thing that Hurricane Sandy in the US taught us, it is that preparation counts. What seemed unlikely even just a day before the storm upended business-as-usual and reinforced the primacy of risk management. As MSCI ESG Research looks forward to 2013, we see clouds on the horizon in the context of accelerating climate change and populist disenchantment in key emerging markets with the way business gets done. Yet, those who look beyond the constrained horizons of stagnating home markets and business-as-usual to retool their strategies for new growth drivers have the chance to seize a significant first mover advantage. Read more

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Research in Focus

Firearms Divestment in the US

Now six weeks since the Sandy Hook tragedy, the US investor community continues to bear witness to the rapidly developing firearms divestment campaign. On January 9, the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) Investment Committee announced that it would begin divesting from firearms companies that manufacture weapons that are illegal in California. Similar investment bans have been adopted in New York City and Chicago. Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter has issued a call through the US Conference of Mayors for adoption of the ‘Sandy Hook Principles’, modeled after the Sullivan principles to end apartheid in South Africa. Read more

Stay tuned: On February 28, 2013, MSCI ESG Research will host a webinar to discuss these and other questions arising from calls to divest from firearms companies.

Green Property Growth: Asia-Pacific and European REITs Setting the Trend

The latest ‘MSCI ESG IVA Industry Report: Real Estate’ benchmarks 70 of the largest Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) globally, covering almost 200 million sqm in space (2.1 billion sqft). Our research finds that the green building market shows more growth potential in Asia-Pacific and Europe than in North America. In addition, energy efficiency practices in North American Residential and Retail REITs are particularly underdeveloped. Top performers by region include GPT (Asia-Pacific), Hammerson (EU), and Liberty (Northern America) Read the MSCI IVA Report for REITs

ESG Integration

Optimizing ESG Factors in Portfolio Construction

Institutional investors wanting to integrate Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors in their investment strategies need the right tools to measure portfolio risk characteristics and performance. MSCI’s BarraOne and Barra Portfolio Manager can provide this utility with Intangible Value Assessment (IVA) ratings from MSCI ESG Research. In this recent study, we examine the use of IVA ratings with the Barra Global Equity Model (GEM3) to build optimized portfolios with improved ESG ratings, while keeping risk, performance, country, industry, and style characteristics similar to conventional benchmarks, such as the MSCI World Index. Read more

Stay tuned: On March 21 2013, MSCI ESG Research will host an interactive webinar on optimizing ESG factors in portfolio construction.

Featured Events

MSCI / GTQ Seminar: Quantifying ESG - A Practical Methodology for Valuing Non-financial Performance

GTQ is organizing a series of seminars on ‘Quantifying ESG’ in London (March 19), Amsterdam (March 21) and Zurich (March 22). The seminars will outline a methodology for valuing a firm’s primary intangible assets and its ESG performance, allowing enhanced portfolio analysis for investors and better management and communication of ESG / sustainability performance for corporations. MSCI ESG Research is hosting the seminar in London. Read more and register

Global ESG Leadership Forum 2013: ESG Integration across Asset Classes

Historically, responsible investment has looked first and foremost to the social and environmental risks and opportunities of investing in the equities of corporations, and a network of sophisticated, socially responsible stock indices, money managers, research firms, and investment products have emerged to help investors integrate ESG information into their public equity investments. Despite many recent and important projects, much work remains to be done to create an overview of how to approach sustainable investment across asset classes and how to develop definitions and guidelines for responsible investment across portfolios. On April 11, 2013, MSCI ESG Research is hosting 3 ESG Leaders webinars (for APAC, EMEA and Northern America) where experts from industry and academy seek to evaluate growth in responsible investment across asset classes. Read more and register

Social media changed the rules of digital marketing. Now, mobile is rewriting the playbook for social media marketing.

You may wish to join a free eMarketer webinar, Social Media Marketing on Mobile Devices on Thursday, February 28, at 1 pm ET (HKT: Friday, March 1, 2013 at 2:00 AM). eMarketer principal analyst Debra Aho Williamson will explore how consumers’ social media usage is shifting, how their social activities differ on the desktop vs. mobile, and what businesses can do to embrace the new opportunities that the mobile environment provides.

The webinar will address these key questions: