UCA Funds Management, as sponsor of the inaugural ESG Research Australia Awards, congratulates Citi Investment Research & Analysis for winning the award for the Best ESG Broking Firm, and Andrew Gray from Goldman Sachs JBWere for winning the award for the Best Piece of Research by an Individual Analyst or Team.  

As part of their prize, both recipients are entitled to nominate an Australian domiciled Taxation Concession Charity as the recipient of a $1,000 investment in UCA Growth Fund. UCA Growth Fund is the best performing fund in its peer group as measured by Morningstar over the one, three and five years ended December 2009.

The ESG Research Australia Awards are designed to recognise and promote the important part that brokers can play in identifying and assessing the impact of environmental, social and governance matters on investments and investment returns.

Andrew Gray’s paper, Good ethics & culture = good investment returns, was voted the winning paper by the assessment panel for the evidence it provided in validating the theory and that ESG issues materially impact share price performance.

UCA Funds Management CEO Graeme Rough, a member of the ESGRA research assessment panel, voted for Gray’s paper and commented on its useability. “It is more of a portfolio management tool that allows ranking. It’s delivered in a clear and consistent framework and covers more ESG factors than any other paper” he said.

The ‘Best ESG broking firm award’, won by Citi, was voted on by all ESG Research Australia members that are Investment Managers. The award is for the broking firm that rated highest for overall service and for the provision of ESG research on Australian equities.

About ESG RA - ESG Research Australia (www.esgra.com.au) is an association of Australian superannuation funds, fund managers and asset consultants which has the single objective of increasing the amount and quality of broker and other equity research in Australia that includes consideration of ESG issues. ESG Research Australia is an association incorporated under Australian law (incorporated 2009) and is governed by an Executive Committee comprised of fund managers and superannuation funds and is currently Chaired by Rob Fowler from HESTA Super Fund. Membership currently represents 42 institutions managing over $100 billion in Australian equities, including some of Australia’s largest fund managers and superannuation funds. In addition to Graeme Rough’s involvement on the ESG RA research assessment panel, UCA Funds Management’s Marketing Manager Peter Thompson has also assisted through his involvement on the ESG RA marketing panel.

To access the ESG Research Australia 2010 Awards Paper please click here.

UCA Funds Management

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