Morgan Stanley has announced it will buy Eaton Vance in a move it believes will deliver long-term financial benefits to shareholders and the company. Morgan Stanley will acquire Eaton Vance for around $7 billion, bringing its assets under management to some $1.2 trillion with over $5 billion of combined revenues. The businesses are “highly complementary” with limited overlap in investment and distribution capabilities, and Morgan Stanley believes Eaton will fill product gaps and deliver “quality scale” to its investment management franchise.

Magellan has announced it will become a foundation investor in a new Australian-based financial services firm led by UBS’ former top deal-maker. Barrenjoey will provide corporate and strategic advisory, equity and debt capital market underwritings, cash equities, research, and traditional fixed income services to Australian and international clients. It will be led by former UBS senior banker Guy Fowler as executive chairman, and John Cincotta, Matt Hanning and Chris Williams as founding partners.

One of the world’s largest investment banks has announced that its US$2.6 trillion global wealth management business will now prioritise sustainable investments. UBS has announced that sustainable investments are now its preferred solution for private clients investing globally – making it the first major global financial institution to make the recommendation. “COVID-19 has put the exclamation point on one of the most important shifts in financial services in a generation,” said UBS co-president of global wealth management Tom Naratil.

“The pandemic has brought the vulnerability and interconnected nature of our societies and industries to the forefront of investors’ minds and shown that sustainability considerations cannot be ignored.” UBS believes traditional investments will remain “most suitable in some circumstances” but that a 100 per cent sustainable portfolio can deliver similar or higher returns, with major sustainable indices performing better than traditional equivalents over the last year. They also offer stronger diversification for clients investing globally. “Sustainable finance is a firm-wide priority for UBS and our aim is to help clients take advantage of new opportunities and manage 21st-century risks more smartly,” said Huw van Steenis, chair of UBS’s Sustainable Finance Committee and senior adviser to the CEO.

The rest of this article can be found at investordaily.com.au.

Global association CFA Institute, has invited feedback on its draft ESG disclosure standards for investment products, in an effort to address inconsistency across the industry. The proposed industry standard will focus on disclosure requirements for investment products with ESG-related features, with the aim to let investors more comprehensively evaluate whether a product will meet their needs. CFA has said it is looking to define and classify ESG-related features and establish disclosure requirements and procedures for independent examination.