After working for Mitsubishi Bank,Ltd., Hikima joined Nikko Asset Management Co., Ltd. in 1985. In 1997, he became the Asia-Pacic Representative Investment Adviser for the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund. His leadership role in sustainable investing was established when, in 1999, he launched Japan’s rst SRI Fund. Hikima was also appointed President at Nikko Asset Management Co., Ltd. in 2002 and President and CEO at Alliance Bernstein Japan Ltd. in 2005.Masafumi HikimaH: Applying ESG strategies such as a transition to renew-able energy can be costly in the short term, but it eventually enhances a company’s competitiveness. Investors nowadays are aware of the importance of long-term investment, but still investee companies’ performance is often measured on a quarterly basis, which puts undue pressure on the investee companies to achieve short-term business results. I think that the projected timelines of both investors and invest-ees need to align perfectly in order to realize a successful long-term investment. Are there any ideas or mechanisms in Europe to promote such long-term perspectives?R: In Europe, it is not just politics but also climate change that are the dominant factors. Emission rights are power-ful tools. If companies fail to invest in the latest technolo-gies to keep up with EU or nation state standards, they will be pushed aside by their competitors. Another factor that supports a long-term perspective is that we already have an accumulation of between five and ten years of data proving that green investments do not mean lower returns.H: The Japanese market does not have as long a track re-cord of ESG-related investment products. It will likely take more time for Japan to accumulate hard evidence that ESG factors are truly material in the risk and return of invest-ments. Furthermore, ESG is by no means a single strategy. There are different approaches in ESG investment, which makes its performance profile quite diverse. What do you think? R: In Europe, ESG investments evolved slowly. The first batch of companies that designed their business models along sustainability lines did so mostly because they thought it was a niche market. Then new movements sprouted out of this supposed “niche market,” and have grown to the point where we now have enough data to conclude that ESG investments are as efficacious as, or even more so than, non-ESG investments in terms of returns as well as social impact. Japan is of course part of the global market where there are already positive examples, which I think will expe-dite the necessary change in Japanese attitudes.H: Negative screening had been a dominant approach in Europe. This is the method of excluding businesses that may be harmful to society such as gambling, tobacco, alco-hol, arms, and so on, and was a practice that stemmed from church activities that focused on ethical elements. Japan does not have the same background. Instead of ethical ele-ments, governance became the key driver in promoting ESG investments especially after the issuance of the Stewardship Code in 2014 and the Corporate Governance Code in 2015. In addition, the decision of the Government Pension Invest-ment Fund (GPIF), the world’s largest public fund, to adopt ESG investments was a major trigger for growing ESG in-terest in Japan. However, incorporation of environmental and social factors for engagement does not appear to be suf-ficient as compared to governance issues. R: Large-scale institutions like the GPIF making that deci-sion will give a boost to the whole market. It will make it harder for the rest of the players not to follow suit, or at least to consider what kinds of companies can offer both positive social impact and adequate returns while minimizing future risk. Taking one step ahead like this will make the next step so much easier.H: Here at Sophia University, we are investing in micro- finance in India and Latin America via specialized invest-ment managers. They periodically submit impact reports to us that clearly indicate how much of a positive effect was achieved through those investments. The key is that mea-surable social impacts are attained and presented, such as the percentage of population that has actually experienced a certain improvement in life, or how many new jobs have been created. ESG Investments Require Long-term PerspectiveSophia’s ESG Efforts and EducationSpecial Talk19
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