Apex Group, a global financial services provider, has launched Invest Check, a tool to help financial market participants collect the necessary data to report on and comply with the upcoming EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (EU SFDR).
As of March 2021, the EU SFDR will require asset managers to incorporate sustainability risks across their investment process, product governance and wider internal processes and systems.
Apex suggests that despite this legislation, many managers lack an understanding of its implications for their business and require support if they are to comply with the reporting demands.
Invest Check is underpinned by Apex’s proprietary software and simplifies the process of regulatory alignment.
In addition, it will evaluate an asset manager’s sustainability strategy at both manager and product level, tracks performance and identifies key gaps against an environmental, social and governance (ESG) data set based on regulatory standards.
The group explains this ESG data is then presented in an easy to use format that mirrors the SFDR template, streamlining the submission process for managers.
Beyond supporting regulatory ESG reporting requirements, Invest Check allows asset managers to identify, understand and act on key gaps to support ESG best practice and to stay ahead of upcoming regulatory or disclosure requirements.
Andy Pitts-Tucker, managing director of Apex ESG Ratings & Advisory, comments: “The regulatory imperative to monitor, disclose and improve ESG data is already a reality for many, with the EU SFDR legislation looming large.”
“We are excited to launch Invest Check and see it as a potential catalyst for behavioural change in the investment process by delivering ESG data in an efficient and usable format for asset managers,” Pitts-Tucker adds.
