34 minute read
Syz Group: How green bonds accelerate the shift to sustainability
from Pan Finance Magazine Q3 2022
by PFMA
SUSTAINABILITY PAN Finance Magazine Q3 2022 FOCUS
Surprisingly for many, Poland became the first country to issue a green bond in December 2016, winning the race ahead of France, which had already announced in April 2016 that it would launch a green-linked instrument in the capital markets. ` In the capital markets, states, local authorities and companies raise billions every year to finance projects, mainly through institutional investors. Poland is not your normal green crusader. The EU member state is known for coal mining and poor air quality. It also regularly reaches Earth Overshoot Day 1 in May. As Mathis Wackernagel, inventor of the concept of the carbon footprint, says - post-May Poland is living on credit. Translated to finances, from May it runs a budget deficit.
RESEARCH | ANALYSIS | INSIGHT
How green bonds accelerate the shift to sustainability
12 July 2022
Sacha Bernasconi Portfolio Manager For many green bond issuers, the only future lies in the sustainable economy. They are setting their sights on achieving the global net zero FOR MANY GREEN BOND ISSUERS, THE ONLY FUTURE LIES IN THE SUSTAINABLE ECONOMY. THEY ARE SETTING THEIR SIGHTS ON ACHIEVING THE GLOBAL NET ZERO TARGET FOR 2050 Syz Asset Managementtarget for 2050 by 2040 or even earlier. BY 2040 OR EVEN EARLIER.
Sacha Bernasconi n Portfolio Manager
Likewise, Switzerland and many other countries have already used up their entire annual ecological budget by May.
Switzerland is still in the preparatory phase and plans to issue its first green bonds only at the end of 20222. France has issued over 54 billion in green bonds since 2017, financing green projects. Meanwhile, Germany issued an innovative green bond in 2020 that has exactly the same maturity as its non-green counterpart.
This shows how big an interest rate difference the two different bonds have. In fact, the difference in terms of yield is only 0.05 percent, which is very small. Other countries have already advanced their transition to sustainability by issuing green bonds: Fiji (first Green Bond as of 2017), Nigeria (2017), Indonesia (2017), Belgium (2018), Lithuania, (2018), Ireland, (2018), Chile (2019), the Netherlands (2019), Hong Kong (2019), Hungary (2020), Sweden (2020), Egypt (2020), Italy (2021), Spain (2021), Serbia (2021), Colombia (2021), South Korea (2021) United Kingdom (2021), Canada (2021) and Austria (2021). WHAT IS FINANCED WITH THE MONEY?
Around two thirds of the funds raised are used for the energy and construction sectors. The energy sector mainly includes measures for electricity and heat. Companies from the private sector seem to be taking very specific measures to reduce the energy they consume. Apple, for example, has invested around USD 1.1 billion from a total of USD 2.5 billion in green bonds in the development park in Cupertino and other sustainable buildings. This alone enables the company to save 1.2 million tonnes of CO2 emissions annually. At the same time, renewable energy production facilities with a capacity of 571 megawatts were installed, 91,000 tonnes of waste were avoided, 360 million litres of water were saved, and several other measures were achieved thanks to the issuance of the green bond.
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WHY ARE SO MANY ISSUERS ARE RACING TO ISSUE GREEN BONDS?
• Since mid-2014, the International Capital Market Association (ICMA) has acted as secretary of the Green Bond Principles (GBP).
• GBP are voluntary guidelines for the issuance of green bonds that were jointly drawn up by market participants with the aim of promoting transparency and integrity in the green bond market.
• Novelty: Green bonds are purpose-built investments, but essentially, they built on the tried and tested format of bonds.
What sounds unspectacular, with formal language such as “secretary” and “voluntary guidelines” , has led to a quiet and silent revolution. For who would have thought 10 years ago that one day the fresh money for green projects would be the same or even more than that for all the freshly subscribed shares worldwide? This turning point seems to have come as early as 2022. The chart below shows how rapidly the green bond market has developed since 2012.
ARE THE VOLUMES SUFFICIENT?
The International Energy Agency estimates that an investment volume of USD 1 000 billion per year is necessary to achieve the energy transition. The Climate Bonds Initiative from London has also set itself the goal of achieving an annual volume of over USD 1 000 billion for green bonds as quickly as possible. The non-profit organisation acts as an intermediary and advises countries and companies on how to issue green bonds.
While the UN Climate Council and the Climate Youth are justifiably making massive demands to combat climate change quickly and consistently, the international political will is geared towards achieving net zero by 2050 at the earliest. Fortunately, many issuers of green bonds see a future only in a sustainable economy and are aiming for net zero by 2040 or earlier. With this voluntary and, in terms of volume, massive but silent transformation, the hope remains that a transition to more a more sustainable economy with the help of the financial markets will be easier than many thought.
1. According to the Global Footprint Network, Earth Overshoot Day is the day in the current year when human demand for renewable resources exceeds the Earth’s supply and capacity to reproduce those resources in that year.
2. On behalf of the Federal Council, the Federal Finance Administration (FFA), in collaboration with the Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (DETEC), will develop a framework for the emission of “Green Confederates” and submit it to the Federal Council for decision by the end of 2022
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
Syz Asset Management Dreikönigstrasse 12 8002 Zurich Tel +41 58 799 77 37 Fax +41 58 799 22 03 syzgroup.com Sacha Bernasconi, Portfolio Manager Sacha.Bernasconi@syzgroup.com
SUSTAINABILITY PAN Finance Magazine Q3 2022
Madeline Taylor
Senior Lecturer, Macquarie University
Historic new deal puts emissions reduction at the heart of Australia’s energy sector
Australia’s energy ministers on Friday voted to make emissions reduction a key national energy goal, in a major step forward in the clean energy transition.
Federal, state and territory energy ministers agreed to include emissions in what’s known as the “national energy objectives”. The objectives guide rule-making and other decisions concerning electricity, retail energy and gas.
Announcing the deal on Friday, Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen said it was the first change to the objectives in 15 years. He added:
This is important, it sends a very clear direction to our energy market operators, that they must include emissions reductions in the work that they do… Australia is determined to reduce emissions, and we welcome investment to achieve it and we will provide a stable and certain policy framework.
The agreement comes not a moment too soon. To meet Australia’s net-zero goals, variable renewable energy capacity must increase nine-fold by 2050. That means doubling Australia’s renewables capacity every decade. So let’s take a closer look at what the deal means.
PRIORITISING EMISSIONS REDUCTION
A body called the Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) makes the rules for the electricity and gas market. It must refer to the national energy objectives to guide the formation of these rules.
The exclusion of emissions from the objectives meant the commission did not have to consider the long-term climate implications of the rules it set. Instead, the objectives mostly meant the commission considered the price, quality, safety, reliability and security of energy.
This limited scope meant some investment decisions by the commission were based on short-term economic grounds. For example, these old regulations required a transmission company to maintain diesel generators rather than build a world-first clean energy mini-grid near Broken Hill, New South Wales.
Other jurisdictions worldwide already include sustainability objectives in electricity laws.
For example, a principal objective of the United Kingdom’s Electricity Act 1989 requires officials to protect the interests of existing and future consumers. The first listed priority is the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
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from electricity supply.
WHAT HAS ITS EXCLUSION MEANT FOR PROJECTS?
The environment used to be included in the objectives, but the Howard government removed it more than two decades ago. The move was a major setback for climate action and the transition to renewable energy.
The energy market operator may consider the environmental or energy policies of participating jurisdictions to identify effects on the power system. But Friday’s deal means consideration of emissions would no longer be optional for the commission.
The traditional principles of efficiency and reliability are, of course, still crucial to energy systems. Yet, the ongoing energy crisis shows we must invest in a suite of technologies to reach net-zero goals while assuring future energy security.
ENSURING THE TRANSITION IS FAIR
Including emissions in investment decisions is crucial for planning the future of the National Electricity Market. Some states are making excellent progress.
For example, New South Wales has mapped five “renewable energy zones” to replace ageing coal-fired generators. The roadmap’s objectives explicitly include improving “the affordability, reliability, security and sustainability of electricity supply”.
A successful energy transition must also consider society’s values. This includes consulting with landholders and communities about developing renewable energy projects on their land.
Making sure Australia’s transition is fair for everyone means prioritising people and their involvement. It also means getting a social licence for energy industry decisions.
The requirement to consider emissions in energy investment decisions may create further incentives for energy bodies to consider societal impacts. This is also reflected in Friday’s ministerial commitment to work on a co-designed First Nations clean energy strategy. Considering climate impacts in energy financing and planning decisions is also crucial to the resilience of our energy systems. It will help ensure we don’t see a repeat of the Black Summer bushfires in 2019-2020, when entire sections of the national grid were destroyed.
ALIGNING WITH OUR LONG-TERM INTERESTS
This is a momentous period for Australia’s energy policy. The new federal government recently established Australia’s first offshore wind zone and is close to enshrining an emissions target in legislation. All this signals a long-needed embrace of the energy transition towards net zero.
This latest change increases this momentum. Importantly, it sends a direct signal for more investment net-zero technologies.
The international COP27 climate conference is due in November and Australia wants to cohost COP29 in 2024 with our Pacific Island neighbours. With that in mind, our regulation must reflect our commitment to the energy transition – and this new deal is a crucially important step.
SUSTAINABILITY PAN Finance Magazine Q3 2022
Renee Adams
Professor of Finance, University of Oxford
Jing Xu
Lecturer in Finance, University of Technology Sydney
Female finance leaders outperform their male peers, so why so few of them in academia and beyond?
The gender diversity of thought leadership in finance is lower than in most other academic fields, our research shows. Finance ranks 132nd out of 175 fields with a representation of only 10.3% women among its thought leaders. Yet these women outperform their male peers.
How did we measure this? The impact of an academic’s ideas can be quantified using academic citations – how often their work is referenced in research published by other academics. We consider thought leaders to be academics who have been ranked among the top 2% in their respective fields by citations in the Scopus database.
We found the percentage of female thought leaders in finance is lower than in economics and in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). It’s surprising since finance is a younger field than economics and so might be expected to be less traditionally male-dominated. The field of academic finance was carved out of economics in the early 1940s.
Our evidence on thought leadership is consistent with other evidence that women are less represented in finance academia than in economics. This is true at every level, from incoming PhD students through to full professors.
We see the under-representation of women in finance both among academics and more broadly. A 2020 Deloitte report noted:
“All but six of 111 CEOs at the 107 largest US public financial institutions (including four with co-CEOs) are men.” WHY ARE SO FEW WOMEN IN FINANCE?
The fact that finance is less gender-diverse than other maths-intensive fields suggests standard arguments about women’s preferences with respect to STEM subjects cannot explain their low representation in finance.
Country-level culture is also unlikely to explain women’s representation in finance. As our research shows, finance thought leadership is geographically concentrated. Only 20% of finance thought leaders are located outside the USA or UK.
Instead, we argue the culture of academic finance is less welcoming to women than it is to men. We provide two pieces of evidence for this argument.
First, we show that individual female thought leaders in finance have more impact than
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their male peers, as measured by citations per paper, their academic rank and a composite score of six citation metrics (total citations, H-index, Hm-index, citations of single, first and last-authored papers). This finding is especially striking given evidence that women’s research is less likely to be cited. Female thought leaders in finance also have relatively more impact than they do in economics or other STEM fields.
These results suggest the obstacles women face in finance are greater than in other fields. The individuals who overcome these barriers outperform their peers.
Second, we show that women’s beliefs about the level of innate talent needed to succeed in finance, instead of motivation and effort, are not correlated with women’s representation in finance thought leadership, but men’s beliefs are. These results are consistent with the idea that men’s beliefs represent a greater barrier to equality in thought leadership, role modelling and education in the “masculine” field of finance than in other fields.
LACK OF DIVERSITY IS A HANDICAP
economy. It’s the third-largest industry in Australia, accounting for 8% of economic output. The lack of diversity in thought leadership for such an important sector is problematic for several reasons.
Diversity of thought and innovation are linked. Lack of diversity means the finance industry may be less innovative than it could be.
The finance sector may also be less welcoming to women than it should be. The general public does not always embrace finance despite its importance. Stockmarket participation is low in some countries and demographic groups, as is financial literacy.
Trust in finance might be higher when finance professionals are more similar to members of the general population.
WHAT CAN UNIVERSITIES DO ABOUT IT?
Women are also less likely to enter the field of finance after graduating. They make up only 35% of MBA enrolments in Australia (41% in the USA). The absence of female thought leadership, role models and educators in finance may help explain women’s under-representation in MBA enrolment and in the finance sector. To overcome the inequality of finance, the culture of finance academia must change. But culture cannot change on demand.
The leadership of academic finance associations and our universities should provide opportunities for introspection, reflection and discussion of these issues. We should start by discussing why academia seems to be focused primarily on producing more science, rather than better science.
We should also acknowledge the role of gatekeepers and take steps to diminish their influence. Universities, academic associations and journals should increase the transparency of their operations. The process through which positions of power are filled, like those of university deans and journal editors, should be transparent. Opportunities for individuals to exercise their voice without repercussion should be provided.
All these organisations must demonstrate a commitment to unbiased decision-making as a core element of good governance. Only when the rules of the game are clear can there be a hope of changing the rules to level the playing field.
SUSTAINABILITY PAN Finance Magazine Q3 2022
David Bailey
Professor of Business Economics, University of Birmingham
Phil Tomlinson
Professor of Industrial Strategy, Deputy Director Centre for Governance, Regulation and Industrial Strategy (CGR&IS), University of Bath
The road ahead for electric cars relies on affordability, not scrapping grants
Since 2011, the UK government has been providing a tax-payer funded discount on the sale of battery electric vehicles. Known as the “plug-in car grant”, it was designed to help persuade motorists make the switch from diesel or petrol and commit to electric driving.
But last month the grant was scrapped with immediate effect. It wasn’t exactly a surprise, given that the amount buyers were able to claim back had gradually been whittled down from £5,000 to £1,500; or that it was recently available only for new vehicles costing less than £32,000 (the average cost of electric cars is around £43,000).
In fact, the government had been trying to scrap the grant completely for a while. Only a major backlash a couple of years ago forced the government to do a speedy handbrake turn and keep it going for a while longer. Now though, the high level of demand for electric vehicles appears to have given the Treasury the green light to pull the plug once and for all. Instead it is apparently opting for a “shift in focus” towards charging infrastructure, although no new money has been announced for this.
The government’s argument for scrapping the subsidy is that it has already done its job of getting the wheels of the electric car market moving. There are also significant financial benefits to owning an electric car such as reduced running costs, and no road tax bill.
And it is true that the market for electric vehicles is strengthening. Prices have come down, the range of models has improved, and it is estimated that one in four cars sold in the UK and EU this year could be battery powered. which have withdrawn financial support for car buyers have seen a dip in demand for electric cars.
For now, the government is essentially saying it will switch towards supporting the charging infrastructure and company car buyers.
At first glance, targeting the purchase of company cars makes sense. Lots of firms buy new cars, and their drivers tend to clock up more miles than private owners. So if they can be encouraged to buy electric cars, this will help reduce CO₂ emissions on the roads.
After two or three years, those company cars are fed into the used car market, potentially increasing the number of electric vehicles available.
But it raises a big question over fairness. Subsidising company cars provides savings to business owners, and employees who may
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benefit from company car tax breaks. Opting for an electric vehicle is becoming an increasingly obvious choice for managers and business owners, with a tax system designed to assist them.
So far, so good – for the relatively well off. In affluent areas of the UK, shiny new Teslas, Polestars, e-Trons plugged into the domestic electricity supply have become a common sight on driveways.
DRIVING AWAY BUSINESS
In poorer areas, they are much less common, and so are the driveways. But those with their own private home charging point enjoy much cheaper rates, because plugging into an onstreet charging point means paying 20% VAT on the electricity rather than the 5% of a domestic tariff. So while targeting company cars and fleet drivers makes some sense in promoting wider electric vehicle uptake, the policy seems pretty regressive. The government seems to have forgotten about helping the less well off into electric vehicles.
In contrast, New Zealand recently announced a “clean car upgrade programme” which aims to help low and middle income families into low-emission cars through what is effectively a scrap-and-replace scheme. In Scotland, a new plan offers interest-free loans to anyone looking to buy a new or used electric cars. It will be interesting to see whether these ideas have the desired effect.
Meanwhile, the global car industry is being severely constrained by the chip shortage. In the UK, it also finds itself under pressure from the shift in approach which now favours the “stick” of economic mandates over the “carrot” of widely available grants.
Under the zero emission vehicle mandate, manufacturers will be required to sell a certain proportion of electric vehicles before 2030. If they don’t hit the targets they will be fined.
Unsurprisingly, the government’s latest moves have not gone down well with a car industry struggling in a difficult economic climate. And nor should the government forget the economic challenges for drivers of soaring petrol prices and the rising cost of living. If it wants more of them to make the switch to electric vehicles, it should be much more focused on making them an affordable option for as many motorists as possible.
INFRASTRUCTURE PAN Finance Magazine Q3 2022
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Thane is cross border licensed with FINRA in the USA, and with IIROC in Canada, with clients based in San Francisco and the Bay Area as well as across Canada. He is also a Fellow of the Canadian Securities Institute (FCSI®), the highest Canadian Securities Institute designation and Chartered Investment Manager (CIM®), the recognized standard for portfolio management.
MOST INNOVATIVE PRIVATE BANK - SWITZERLAND 2022 -
The Syz Group is a family owned and managed Swiss financial group focused on excellent long-term investment performance, robust risk management, and personal service for clients. Descending from a family that have been entrepreneurs for centuries, the group was co-founded in 1996 by Eric Syz who still leads the firm alongside his two sons and a team of industry experts. Stable and secure – the Syz Group holds substantial equity, at around double Switzerland’s regulatory requirements.
The group serves clients across four main areas:
• Bank Syz offers private clients a genuine alternative to the traditions of Swiss private banking • Syz Independent Managers offers independent asset managers custody and investment services tailored to meet their clients’ needs.
• Syz Capital offers investors the opportunity to invest alongside the
Syz family in hard to access alternative investments such as private markets
• Syz Asset Management primarily invests the assets of Swiss institutional investors in bonds and money market instruments.
Syz clients share the group’s long-term view and focus on building sustainable wealth for the future. Syzgroup.com
BEST CFTC AND NFA COMPLIANCE CONSULTANCY - 2022 -
Turnkey Trading Partners (“Turnkey”) provides high touch, high service, consulting, accounting, and compliance solutions to brokerage and trading firms operating within the alternative investments industry. Turnkey’s customers include International Banks, Clearing Organizations, Swap Dealers, Hedge Funds, Commodity Trading Advisors, Brokers and Traders, as well as Crypto and Digital Asset firms. After more than fifteen years of successful operations, Turnkey supports hundreds of clients from around the globe, making it one of the largest derivatives consulting firms in the United States. As a frequent winner of industry “Best” awards, Turnkey has staked its reputation on successfully providing efficient, cost-effective business support that is custom tailored to meet each of its customer’s unique needs. Turnkey’s team of leading industry professionals is well prepared to address nearly every situation which may be encountered while operating a regulated trading and brokerage business. Turnkey was founded in Chicago, IL during 2007 by a former industry regulator. In 2017 the firm expanded its operations to the greater Miami area where it now maintains an office in Ft. Lauderdale, FL.
To learn more about Turnkey and its service offerings please visit www.turnkeytradingpartners.com.
MOST INNOVATIVE SME FINANCIAL SOLUTIONS - THAILAND 2022 EXCELLENCE IN DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION - THAILAND 2022 -
United Overseas Bank (Thai) Public Company Limited (UOB Thailand) is a fully-licensed commercial bank with a network of 149 branches and 352 ATMs (as of 31 December 2021). UOB Thailand is 99.66 per cent owned by United Overseas Bank Limited (UOB), one of Singapore’s oldest and Southeast Asia’s biggest banks.
A regional bank rooted in Thailand since 1999, UOB Thailand has established a reputation for delivering an integrated and omni-channel banking experience anchored in our robust regional infrastructure and digital transformation strategy. We provide comprehensive financial solutions to individuals and businesses, including personal financial services, commercial and corporate banking, and treasury services.
UOB Thailand is among the top-ranking banks in Thailand: A3 by Moody’s Investors Service and AAA(tha) by Fitch Ratings.
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