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HONG KONG, Jan. 28, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Mirae Asset Global Investments (Hong Kong) Limited (Mirae Asset) today announced that the Company has reaffirmed its commitments to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) efforts with an official conversion to comply with SFDR Article 8 UCITS funds that cover the Mirae Asset Sustainable Asia Sector Leader, Sustainable India Sector Leader, and Sustainable Asia Pacific Equity Funds[2].
Effective January 28, 2022, under SFDR Article 8 UCITS funds, the Company is committed to providing investments that promote environmental and social characteristics, and companies that follow good governance practices.
Jung Ho Rhee, Chief Executive Officer of Mirae Asset, said "At Mirae Asset, we are profoundly aware of our responsibilities. As good corporate citizens, ESG considerations are firmly embedded in our corporate mindset. Our unwavering principles and core values define our focus, and we continue to pursue relentless innovation and expand our capabilities with a forward-looking and pioneering approach to enhancing corporate governance through active shareholder voting. Meanwhile, we practice human-centric capitalism to help create social and economic value for the communities in which we invest. The conversion to comply with SFDR Article 8 UCITS funds aims to further strengthen our commitment to lead the way globally in corporate stewardship and create voice and value for the community and stakeholders through ESG development."
Recognized for continued dedication
Mirae Asset is one of the pioneers to launch Hong Kong's first listed ESG ETF[3], Global X China Clean Energy ETF, as an SFC-authorized green and ESG fund. In recognition of Mirae Asset's outstanding commitment to corporate stewardship through the lens of ESG development and the company's efforts to help create social and economic value for all stakeholders in the communities in which the company invest, the fund was recently recognized by Bloomberg Businessweek's Top Fund Award, winning the runner-up 'Outstanding Performer' prize in the Equity of Greater China category for its NAV Total Return 1 Year, in January 2022.
The award is a recognition that has debunked the non-performance benefits of ESG investing. Mirae Asset practices full ESG integration through a two-pronged approach: actively investing in ESG themes and conducting ESG screening and engagement for the Company's portfolios.
Implementing ESG efforts
By actively investing in ESG themes, Mirae Asset directs capital to companies that positively impact the environment and society. Conducting ESG screening and engagement allows the Company to refrain from investing in sectors with a negative ESG impact, while at the same time encouraging ESG-poor companies to improve for long-term business resilience and value creation.
To practice ESG integration, Mirae Asset developed a proprietary ESG scorecard for Asian equity investing in 2016 to ensure that ESG scores are tailored to the companies in the portfolio based on the sectors and markets they operate in. The Mirae Asset ESG scorecard covers 24 industry groups within 11 sectors and is composed of 14 topics categorized under the pillars of Environmental, Social, Governance, and the United Nations Sustainable Developments Goals (UN SDGs) impact.
Mirae Asset refrains from investing in companies that have significant (more than 15%) revenue from certain sectors, including but not limited to thermal coal mining and unconventional oil and gas.
As an active owner, Mirae Asset's analysts and portfolio managers consistently interact with companies and undertake site visits to understand companies in their entirety. Mirae Asset believes that such meetings provide an additional layer of ESG understanding that the company cannot achieve purely from accessing sell-side research alone. The unwavering commitment of Mirae Asset to ESG issues was also exhibited when joining the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) in August 2021. The Company is one of the first asset managers in Hong Kong to become a signatory to the UN Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) in 2015.
About Mirae Asset Global Investments Group
Mirae Asset Global Investments (the Company) is an asset management organization with over USD 229 billion in assets under management as of December 2021. The Company is committed to ESG efforts that comply with SFDR Article 8 UCITS funds.
The Company provides a diverse range of investment products, including mutual funds, exchange-traded funds ("ETFs") and alternatives. Operating out of 12 markets worldwide, the Company has a global team of more than 200 investment professionals.
[1] SFDR stands for Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation
[2] Full names of funds are Mirae Asset Sustainable Asia Sector Leader Equity, Mirae Asset Sustainable India Sector Leader Equity, and Mirae Asset Sustainable Asia Pacific Equity Funds.
[3] ETF stands for exchange traded fund.
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