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Sustainable Investing Report 2021: Time to step up

By Richard Edgar Editor in Chief

29 July 2021

Welcome to our Sustainable Investing Report 2021, in which we explore our engagements with investee companies over the year across many themes, as well as the ways in which Covid-19 and climate change are rapidly changing sustainable investing. We consider how the pandemic has created the desire for a more sustainable future and how society can come together to accelerate the net-zero transition as we approach the UN climate conference in Glasgow later this year.

Welcome to our Sustainable Investing Report 2021, in which we explore our engagements with investee companies over the year across many themes, as well as the ways in which Covid-19 and climate change are rapidly changing sustainable investing. We consider how the pandemic has created the desire for a more sustainable future and how society can come together to accelerate the net-zero transition as we approach the UN climate conference in Glasgow later this year.

Foreword: Anne Richards, CEO

Article Foreword: Anne Richards, CEO

Tackling climate change quickly is hard, but if we work together, we can make a difference.

Sustainable Investing Report 2021: Introduction

Article Sustainable Investing Report 2021: Introduction

Sustainable investing is developing fast, driven by the Covid-19 pandemic and the urgent need to tackle climate change.

Raising the bar for engagement

Article Raising the bar for engagement

2020 was a watershed year for ESG, and for engagement. As we moved through the Covid-19 crisis, engagement took on an even bigger role than before.

Planetary risk: Mapping climate pathways to macro and strategic asset allocat…

Article Planetary risk: Mapping climate pathways to macro and strategic asset allocat…

Climate change, and the drive to reduce carbon emissions, must be incorporated into long-term capital market assumptions for complete picture of returns.

Riding the regulatory wave

Article Riding the regulatory wave

Net zero pledges have come thick and fast from governments and companies in the last year, most notably from China and a re-engaged US.

ESG Analyst Survey 2021: Net zero opportunities now outweigh risks

Article ESG Analyst Survey 2021: Net zero opportunities now outweigh risks

Our survey of 151 Fidelity analysts reveals that the path to net zero now offers some sectors more opportunities to profit.

Asia could become a top destination for investors driving sustainable change

Article Asia could become a top destination for investors driving sustainable change

Asia has been among the top destinations for growth investors in recent decades. Now it could become one of the top markets for sustainable investors.

Biodiversity bond plants seed for engagement

Article Biodiversity bond plants seed for engagement

The devastation caused by human encroachment into natural habitats, exacerbated by climate change, is a key engagement theme for Fidelity.

Impact just got real

Article Impact just got real

‘Impact investing’ is fast becoming a big focus for real estate investors, but ironically, in a few short years, may also be an outdated term.

Anne Richards on corporate responsibility and sustainable investing

Video Anne Richards on corporate responsibility and sustainable investing

Fidelity's Chief Executive describes how the pandemic has reshaped the company and why sustainable investing is top of her agenda.

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ESG Analyst Survey 2023: Mind the gap

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Sustainable Investing Report 2023: Nature positive

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Bioacoustics: Can sound solve biodiversity's data deficit?

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Analyst Survey 2023: Light at the end of the tunnel

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Analyst Survey 2023: Companies sticking with ESG - but one key blindspot remains

Analyst Survey 2023: China poised to lead expansion in Asia

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Outlook 2023: Navigating the polycrisis

November 2022

Outlook 2023: Navigating the polycrisis

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ESG Outlook: Getting real

Outlook 2023: Download the assets

Asia’s shifting growth model

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Sustainable Investing Report 2022: ESG 2.0

July 2022

Sustainable Investing Report 2022: ESG 2.0

July 2022

Active ownership at Fidelity

High impact: The pursuit of outcomes

Ratings 2.0: Fidelity’s sustainability ratings now doubly material

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Fidelity Analyst Survey 2022: Mind the roadblocks

February 2022

Fidelity Analyst Survey 2022: Mind the roadblocks

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Analyst Survey results and investment implications

Analysts on the headline findings

Analyst Survey 2022: China goes its own way

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Catch-2022: Unravelling the policy paradox

November 2021

Catch-2022: Unravelling the policy paradox

November 2021

ESG Outlook 2022: Three key priorities in sustainable investing

Rich Pickings podcast: Catch 2022 - what's in store for the year ahead

Asia’s shifting growth model

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ESG Analyst Survey 2021: A world of opportunity

June 2021

ESG Analyst Survey 2021: A world of opportunity

June 2021

Key findings of Fidelity's ESG Analyst Survey explained

Analysts tell the stories behind the ESG Survey data

Many hands can make ESG work

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ESGenius: The case files

May 2021

ESGenius: The case files

May 2021

Anatomy of an ESG engagement: Interpump

Fidelity's engagement explained

In the weeds with one of the world’s largest pulp producers

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Fidelity Analyst Survey 2021: Counting down the days

March 2021

Fidelity Analyst Survey 2021: Counting down the days

March 2021

China sentiment points to sustained lead in global recovery

Deep dive on Japan: exporters bolstered by China recovery

Analyst Survey 2021: Region by region

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Outlook 2021: Seizing the new reality

November 2020

Outlook 2021: Seizing the new reality

November 2020

November's Rich Pickings: Outlook 2021

Asia Outlook 2021: Asian economies demonstrate resilience

Fixed income in 2021: Monetary policy to the rescue, but duration tantrums are possible

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Sustainability Report 2020: Sustainable capitalism in a post-Covid world

July 2020

Sustainability Report 2020: Sustainable capitalism in a post-Covid world

July 2020

Room for improvement in how investors assess real estate sustainability

Sustainability Report 2020: Fidelity CEO Anne Richards on sustainable capitalism

Engaging with investee companies across multiple themes

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After the virus: The new economic order

June 2020

After the virus: The new economic order

June 2020

Dislocation, dislocation, dislocation: Opportunities in UK real estate

Public equity markets are flagging when we need them the most

The end of the journey to the West: Chinese tech firms come home

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Coronavirus, the oil crash and market volatility

March 2020

Coronavirus, the oil crash and market volatility

March 2020

March's Rich Pickings podcasts: CIOs and portfolio managers on navigating stormy markets

China gets back to business

As gold’s surge draws wider interest, miners shine too

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Analyst Survey 2020: Cycle, what cycle?

February 2020

Analyst Survey 2020: Cycle, what cycle?

February 2020

Analyst Survey 2020 podcast: The findings discussed

Analyst Survey 2020: Sector by sector

Analyst Survey 2020: Region by region

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Outlook 2020: Soft landing, earnings returning

December 2019

Outlook 2020: Soft landing, earnings returning

December 2019

CIO Outlook video: Steve Ellis on Fixed Income

CIO Outlook video: Romain Boscher on Equities

CIO Outlook video: Andrew McCaffery on Multi Asset and Alternatives

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How should I allocate to China?

September 2019

How should I allocate to China?

September 2019

China’s third-pillar pension challenge

No pain, no gain: Chinese defaults are rising and recovery rates are falling

Grocery retail is the next frontier for e-commerce in China

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How should I allocate for income?

July 2019

How should I allocate for income?

July 2019

Why doing your research pays dividends

In charts: How demographic change is driving demand for income

Q&A: How do income and yield differ?

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What difference can active managers make in Sustainable Investing?

April 2019

What difference can active managers make in Sustainable Investing?

April 2019

A sustainable investor’s view on water scarcity in China

Data is helping to identify the diversity strategies that work

The challenge of investing sustainably in sovereign debt

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Fidelity Analyst Survey 2019

February 2019

Fidelity Analyst Survey 2019

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Region by region: Analyst Survey 2019

Podcast: Fidelity Analyst Survey 2019

ESG now pervasive in Europe and growing in China

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The world in 2029: How will investing change?

January 2019

The world in 2029: How will investing change?

January 2019

Bull and bear cases for China in 2029

Forecasting markets in 2029: 10 years is a long time in finance

How cost pressures will reshape the asset management industry

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How will demographics change my investing?

October 2018

How will demographics change my investing?

October 2018

Standing on demographic fault lines: The impact of population changes

In five charts: the demographic trends changing the world

Profiting from demographics: exploiting investment opportunities in a slow-moving world

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How should I allocate as market risks change?

September 2018

How should I allocate as market risks change?

September 2018

Practical approaches to getting comfortable with more risk

What is defensive this time: Building an all-weather portfolio

How to protect against black swans - if we can at all

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Why should I reconsider my allocation to Asia?

July 2018

Why should I reconsider my allocation to Asia?

July 2018

For and against China as a standalone allocation

China’s rising outbound flows will move global markets

The spectacular rise of Asia in 12 charts

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How should I combine active and passive in my portfolio?

June 2018

How should I combine active and passive in my portfolio?

June 2018

Engagement is the ESG X-factor

Combining AI and active management to make powerful investment decisions

Active and passive through the cycle - by Portfolio Managers who've seen it before

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ESG: Is it worth it?

April 2018

ESG: Is it worth it?

April 2018

What is and what isn't ESG: the investors' definition

ESG in real estate: How green is your castle?

China's changing environmental priorities

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Fidelity Analyst Survey 2018

February 2018

Fidelity Analyst Survey 2018

February 2018

Analysts lift the lid on their sectors’ optimism

Sector by sector: Fidelity Analyst Survey 2018

Region by region: Fidelity Analyst Survey 2018

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I can't avoid risk. How do I take it wisely?

February 2018

I can't avoid risk. How do I take it wisely?

February 2018

Currency hedging: Testing the theory

The investment world’s best writing on risk

ESG: Four underappreciated risks

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How should I prepare for the end of the cycle?

December 2017

How should I prepare for the end of the cycle?

December 2017

Bill McQuaker: what I learned from the last three cycles

China's tricky tightrope: High debt levels don't spell gloom but China's magic wand is gone

In depth in eight minutes: end of the cycle, explained

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How should I deal with a changing Central Bank environment?

December 2017

How should I deal with a changing Central Bank environment?

December 2017

The changing nature of inflation

Views from the desk: Diverging monetary policy

Easy days could soon be over: central bank policy normalisation

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