Beyond the ESG Portfolio

How to be confident that your ESG investments serve your clients’ needs—and take democracy into account

It is easy to unintentionally finance autocrats by using benchmark indices, which often include bonds and stocks of countries slipping down the democracy rankings. Despite best intentions, an investor may be investing in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine or supporting a leader like Hugo Chavez without realizing it. This is the kind of situation Beyond the ESG Portfolio sheds clear light on.

In this timely book, Marcos Buscaglia, a Latin America economist, emerging markets expert, and an emerging voice on the relationship between democracy and markets, argues that the current ESG criteria has brought environmental and social standards into investment decisions, but its approach to democracy needs to be refined. You’ll learn everything you need to know about the connection between Wall Street and the economic, social, and foreign policies of Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Hungary Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Russia President Vladimir Putin, China President Xi Jinping, and a host of Latin American autocrats, and how ESG criteria has not been able to stop markets from funding their regimes.