Globally, allocations to passively managed funds (also referred to as index funds) are forecast to rise from around 14% of the fund industry’s total assets under management in 2017 to 27% by 2025 (according to data from Moody’s Investors Service).
At BNP Paribas Asset Management, we construct passive investment solutions with Active ESG integration. In the past, integration of Environmental, Societal and Governance (ESG) investment criteria was associated with active-management strategies but this perception has changed over the last 5 – 10 years, notably in Europe.
Index fund managers have integrated ESG scores into their valuation models and investment processes as demand for inclusion of climate and sustainability parameters in the structure of index solutions has grown. Investors are keen to take advantage of the different possibilities on offer and seek advice from specialists like BNPP AM who combine 20 years of ESG know-how (thanks to a dedicated ESG research team) with a 30-year track record in index replication. For all investment solutions, the Sustainability Centre at BNP Paribas Asset Management ensures application of a proxy voting and engagement policy.
Active integration of ESG investment criteria goes hand in hand with passive investing for us at BNP Paribas Asset Management.
Speaker: Isabelle Bourcier
Head of Quantitative and Index Management in the Multi Asset quantitative & Solutions (MAQS) division at BNP Paribas Asset Management
Isabelle Bourcier is Head of Quantitative and Index Management in the Multi Asset Quantitative & Solutions (MAQS) division at BNP Paribas Asset Management. Appointed to lead a team that includes more than 50 staff based in Paris, Munich and Milan, she supervises various areas of expertise (portfolio management, structuring, sales and marketing). BNP Paribas Asset Management’s quantitative and index management offers a wide range of market access (ETFs/funds/index mandates) and smart beta solutions (single and multi-factor strategies) covering various asset classes.
From 2011 to 2015, Isabelle was Director of Development at Ossiam, Natixis Global Asset Management subsidiary specialised in smart beta ETFs. From 2000 to 2010, she was Global Head of the ETF business at Lyxor Asset Management, a subsidiary of Société Générale, as well as Global Head of all listed products at Société Générale from 2006.
During her career, both at Société Générale (1994-2010) and at Natixis (2011-2015), Isabelle developed businesses in various countries, being in charge of product development as well as team management, recruiting, training and supervising different expertise including marketing and sales.
Awarded “Femme Manager” of the year by AGEFI in 2017 and voted one of the 100 most influential women in finance by Financial News in 2018, Isabelle is a member of the board of Women in ETFs for Europe, Middle-East and Africa (EMEA) region.
Isabelle started her professional career in 1992 as European Editor at Financial Times in London. She has a master’s in International Management and Marketing from the Institut Supérieur Européen de Gestion business school.
