The latest news in funds and investments from across the world.

MSCI
MSCI ESG Research, part of the investment benchmark organisation MSCI is to make its environmental, social and governance ratings on more than 2,800 firms available to the public, drawing more attention to this resource.

The ESG ratings on firms in the MSCI ACWI Index can now be obtained by using a search tool on msci.com. MSCI ESG Research plans to make the ratings for 7,500 constituents of MSCI ACWI Investable Markets Index available in 2020.

The move is an example of low the term “ESG” has become a constant feature of today’s asset and wealth management world. Banks and other financial firms are scrambling to prove their credentials in this space, mindful that today’s investors, such as younger adults, are keen on the idea.

MSCI ESG Research rates companies on a ‘AAA to CCC’ scale according to their exposure to ESG risks and how well they manage those risks relative to peers. The ratings use 1,000 data points from company disclosures and alternative data sets, across 37 ESG issues which are reviewed weekly. MSCI also uses artificial intelligence and machine learning, alongside a 200+ strong team, to monitor and update companies continually and deliver relevant ESG insights.

Alpha Real Capital
Alpha Real Capital, the specialist manager of long income real assets, has launched the European Long Income Fund (ELIF). The fund will target euro-denominated, asset backed, secure inflation-linked income streams by investing in commercial ground rents, amortising income strips and long lease property. The fund's primary focus on ground rents and income strips is intended to place ELIF at the lower end of the risk spectrum, offering a key differentiator to other long income property funds.

The fund mainly concentrates on real estate investment opportunities in the eurozone with an initial focus on Germany, the Netherlands and Ireland. ELIF is a Luxembourg-domiciled fund open to institutional investors.

Building on a track record in the UK, where Alpha has deployed in excess of €2.9 billion in long income property for pension funds and other investors, the fund has secured a major investment from Willis Towers Watson’s European Secure Income Fund. It has also brought in interest from European pensions funds and insurers.

“With nominal yields in northern Europe forecast to be close to zero or negative for the long term, we believe that secure income derived from long income property is an increasingly attractive asset class for European pension funds and insurers," Hugo James, partner and head of Long Income, said.