Fixed on ESG

Cybersecurity impacts every industry and, for many issuers, the consequences of a breach could be disastrous—as we've seen in a number of recent high-profile cases. As investors analysing the current cybersecurity landscape from an ESG risk and ESG impact perspective, we believe that a lack of understanding or investment in cybersecurity is simply not an option. In this episode of Fixed on ESG, Bi...

Damaged power lines are a leading cause of wildfires around the world and serve as a significant vulnerability to the service providers who operate them. The cost of upgrading and repairing transmission and distribution lines is high, but costs related to the legal liabilities faced by these entities in the face of a wildfire can be enormous and, therefore, can majorly impact the credit risk of ut...

Although deep-sea mining has never occurred at commercial scale, the growing interest in the minerals and metals found on the seabed could prompt a shift in the status quo. As the world looks to address climate change, increased demand for required base metals and critical minerals that support large scale deployments of green technologies is a real concern. Against this backdrop, some point to de...

Clean hydrogen has garnered considerable attention in recent years due to its potential to address hard-to-decarbonize sectors—or—as James Malone, CFA, ESG Specialist , and host of this month's podcast likes to refer to them, "hard-to-electrify sectors." These are sectors where electrification has historically been—for a variety of reasons—less attractive, less commercial, or simply not viable. In...

In some areas, population explosion has exhausted freshwater supplies, and globally the impacts of a warming climate have caused the slow depletion of the freshwater resources available. The search for solutions to freshwater scarcity has intensified and led some municipalities to explore desalination, or the process of turning saltwater into freshwater , as one potential solution. PGIM Fixed Inco...

The existing stock of affordable housing in the U.S. is becoming largely obsolete at the same time the development of replacement properties has lagged. As a result, the affordable housing supply in the U.S. is in crisis. In this episode of PGIM Fixed Income's Fixed on ESG , David Klausner , ESG Specialist , sits down with Ola Hixon, Executive Director and Portfolio Manager on PGIM Real Estate's U...

Nuclear fusion is making headlines with the first ever demonstration of fusion ignition by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Why is this so groundbreaking? Nuclear fusion is a clean source of energy, and there are many benefits to fusion over its more controversial counterpart, nuclear fission. Some are even painting fusion as THE solution to the climate crisis. Those are the headlines....

The long awaited 2022 United Nations Biodiversity Conference (COP15) was held this past December in Montreal. Biodiversity is hugely important to us all for our basic, everyday needs, but biodiversity loss is not just an ecological threat as half of global GDP is dependent on nature in some way. With hopes that COP15 would produce a Paris Agreement equivalent to biodiversity, stakes were high. Bir...

With the conclusion of COP27 this past November in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, on this episode of Fixed on ESG, PGIM Fixed Income's John Ploeg, CFA, Co-Head of ESG Research, has invited Birgit Jakobsen, Senior ESG Analyst, to join him in highlighting the major takeaways from the conference. These include: updates to some of the nationally determined contributions (NDCs); this year's main communique, t...

In this episode of Fixed on ESG, PGIM Fixed Income's Armelle de Vienne, Co-Head of ESG Research, and Kunal Patel, CFA, Head of Client Advisory for UK, Middle East and Africa, host a Q&A with special guest, Sarika Goel, Global Head of Sustainable Investment Research for Mercer. Listen for thoughts on: drivers of demand for ESG-labelled fixed income strategies; navigating differences in investor ESG...

With the 27th annual UN Climate Change Conference (COP27) underway in Egypt, what do investors need to know? In this episode of Fixed on ESG, Elizabeth Burgess, Client Manager, sits down with John Ploeg, CFA, Co-head of ESG Research, to set the scene for listeners and provide background on the big-ticket issues we all should be monitoring, including: updates to Nationally Determined Contributions...

What could electric vehicles and California's 2035 ban on the sale of gas-powered autos mean for autos manufacturers and what peripheral factors do fixed income investors need to consider? PGIM Fixed Income's own Alistair Shepheard-Walwyn, Investment Analyst and ESG Specialist, John Smigelsky, CFA, U.S. IG Credit Research Analyst, and Megi Leka, Sr. European IG Credit Research Analyst, have sorted...

ESG investing has gained a lot of traction in recent years, but even with its growing popularity, many misconceptions still exist around how an ESG portfolio strategy should be structured to attain a dual mandate of making a positive impact and striving for solid performance. In this episode, John Ploeg, CFA, Co-head of ESG Research, and Anna de Jong, Head of Client Advisory Benelux and Nordics, s...

In this episode, Armelle de Vienne, Co-head of ESG Research (and certified divemaster), invited Mark Spalding, President of The Ocean Foundation, to discuss the emergence of blue bonds in the ESG investing space. What defines a blue bond and why haven't investors heard more about them? Why might sovereign or corporate issuers issue a blue bond? What are the challenges and potential impacts of thes...

PGIM Fixed Income's James Malone, CFA, ESG Research Specialist, and Beth Gunning, Credit Analyst for Emerging Markets Corporate Bond Research, join David Klausner, ESG Research Specialist, for a deep dive into the critical role that metals and mining companies have in enabling the low carbon transition. Our panel explores a range of topics, including the dramatic increase for minerals as countries...

Food prices have been rising globally for some time now. While the Russia/Ukraine conflict has exacerbated food instability, many other factors have also come into play including the COVID-19 pandemic, increases in demand from growing populations, extreme weather events, among others. The war in Ukraine has shown us how the world has become increasingly reliant on a few crops grown in a few countr...

Like most nuanced subjects, ESG is a highly intricate topic with many more complexities than most might initially consider. And incorporating ESG-factors into portfolio construction introduces additional challenges, even to the most seasoned investors. However, PGIM Fixed Income is dedicated to helping our clients navigate the ESG landscape. Our dedicated team of ESG research experts have extensiv...

PGIM Fixed Income is proud to bring you,  Fixed On ESG , a monthly podcast series exploring the latest topics and trends of ESG investing. A rotating lineup of PGIM Fixed Income ESG-expert hosts will provide our take on the investment implications and value opportunities we see in this space and how changes in the market may directly affect our decision making. Subscribe to hear from PGIM Fixed In...