Asset managers lending out of their securities can be compatible with investment on environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles, an industry body said on Thursday, adding it was working on drawing up guidelines.
Owners of shares or other securities can lend them, for a fee, to other investors who wish to hold them temporarily to short the stock, or for other purposes, such as hedging.
Often highly profitable for the lenders, opponents of the practice say it can conflict with ESG investing, a trend that accounts for investment worth tens of trillions of dollars.
A Pan Asia Securities Lending Association (PASLA) survey of its members found 89% of respondents said that securities lending could be compatible with ESG principles, if certain measures were put in place.
The full article is available at https://www.reuters.com/article/us-asia-esg-shortselling/asset-managers-lending-to-short-sellers-can-be-ethical-study-idUSKBN22X037?il=0