Asset managers that excelled in sustainability in Asia, explained

AsianInvestor's renowned Asset Management Awards continue to set the benchmark for excellence in the investment management landscape across the Asia Pacific region.

This year's category rebrand to "Excellence in Sustainable Investing" reflects the industry's evolution toward more comprehensive approaches to responsible investment.

While our evaluation process evolves each year, we maintain an unwavering focus on identifying the most exceptional talent and innovation in Asia's asset management landscape.

Our distinguished judging panel, featuring independent industry experts and senior executives from regional asset owners, carefully assessed all qualifying submissions. The editorial team then worked alongside these judges to determine the ultimate winners.

In this explainer, we reveal the reasoning behind our panel's selection of winners in the excellence in sustainable investing categories, showcasing how these forward-thinking institutions are reshaping investment practices while delivering both financial returns and positive real-world impact.

Best Fund House - Sustainability: BNP Paribas Asset Management

BNP Paribas Asset Management stood out in a hotly contested category for its maturity, clarity of vision, and consistency in applying sustainability across asset classes.

Judges were impressed by the firm’s methodical integration of ESG principles — not as an overlay but as a structural foundation running through its entire investment platform.

A key differentiator was the firm’s holistic “3 Es” framework — Energy transition, Ecosystems, and Equality — supported by detailed roadmaps that go beyond high-level pledges.

The addition of its Equality Roadmap in 2024 completed a compelling trilogy, demonstrating a willingness to engage with the social dimensions of sustainability as seriously as the environmental.

“BNP is a leader in sustainability,” the judging panel said of this submission. “The equality roadmap is new and something that we had not seen before.”

In terms of product innovation, the judges noted BNP Paribas AM’s push into sustainable private markets — including its acquisition of IWC and launch of the Future Forest Fund — as a forward-looking move that opens up tangible nature-based solutions for clients.

The firm’s €140 billion in EU-labelled sustainable assets and commitment to Net Zero-aligned strategies further reinforced its credibility.

Judges agreed that BNP Paribas Asset Management is not only leading but helping shape the future of sustainable investing.

Best Fund House – Sustainability (Highly Commended):  Pictet Asset Management

Pictet Asset Management reinforced its longstanding commitment to sustainability in 2024, maintaining a strong lead in environmental thematics.

With nearly $12 billion combined in flagship environmental strategies — including Clean Energy Transition and Global Environmental Opportunities — Pictet demonstrated that sustainable investing and strong returns can go hand in hand.

Its Clean Energy Transition fund, for example, delivered 22.97% over one year and ranks in the top quartile across multiple timeframes.

The firm’s proprietary Biodiversity Impact Model was another standout, offering location-specific insights across 20,000 supply chains and five biodiversity impact categories.

Judges noted growing demand for this tool from institutional investors across Europe and Asia.

Pictet’s forward momentum was also seen in private markets, with the 2024 launch of its thematic private equity co-investment fund targeting environmental innovation.

Judges felt that while competition was tough this year, Pictet’s thematic clarity leave it well-positioned for future leadership.

Best Fund House – Impact: Mirova

Mirova demonstrated an ability to pair rigorous investment structures with on-the-ground outcomes, executing both effectively and at scale.

With assets under management rising from $7 billion in 2016 to $35.6 billion in 2024, the firm’s consistent growth reflected the client confidence it has built in its products over the past eight years.

“There was a good range of products for customers,” one panellist said of the Mirova submission. “They are specialised in impact investing – we liked their framework and their value for clients.”

The launch of the Biodiversity Equity Fund, the Gigaton Fund for clean energy in emerging markets, and the Mirova Impact Life Essentials Fund underlined Mirova’s willingness to tackle urgent global challenges with innovative capital solutions.

Its first investment in India, supporting rural clean transport and renewable energy, also showed a commitment to scaling impact in the Asia-Pacific region.

Judges also highlighted Mirova’s internal impact assessment methodology, which revealed far stronger sustainability alignment than its benchmarks — with 80% of its fixed income portfolio rated as having moderate or high positive impact, compared to just 27% for the Barclays Euro Aggregate.

Additionally, Mirova’s portfolios are aligned with a sub-2°C temperature trajectory.

Combined with robust engagement practices and deep integration of frameworks like SFDR, EU Taxonomy, and TCFD, Mirova typifies what meaningful, measurable impact investing looks like at a global level.

Best ESG Data Provider: MSCI

MSCI impressed judges with the depth, innovation, and scale of its ESG data platform, underpinned by 50 years of domain expertise.

In 2024, MSCI continued to evolve rapidly in response to client needs — integrating biodiversity metrics through its WWF partnership, launching AI-powered physical risk tools, and expanding its reach in private markets via the Burgiss acquisition and Moody’s ESG coverage integration.

Its ESG data now spans over 17,000 issuers and nearly 1 million securities, with 80 million data points published annually and an accuracy rate exceeding 99.9%.

The launch of MSCI Carbon Project Ratings and the expansion of regulatory solutions — from SFDR to CSRD — reinforced its role as a leading partner for climate-aligned investing.

Judges were particularly impressed by MSCI’s growing influence across public and private markets. With tools now supporting over 3,000 ESG clients, and equity AUM benchmarked to MSCI ESG & Climate Indexes reaching $933 billion, the firm demonstrated unmatched adoption and credibility.

MSCI’s partnership with GPIF, the world’s largest asset owner, further exemplified the trust placed in its analytics to shape climate and biodiversity strategies at scale.

Best ESG Index Provider: MSCI

In a strong showing across multiple categories this year, MSCI not only secured the award for Best ESG Data Provider — it also impressed judges with its leadership in ESG indexing.

With over 5,500 ESG indexes spanning equities and fixed income, MSCI has established itself as the benchmark for scalable, transparent, and forward-looking index solutions.

As of June 2024, $933 billion in equity AUM was benchmarked to its ESG & Climate Indexes, reflecting a 40% rise since 2022.

What set MSCI apart was the combination of breadth and responsiveness.

The launch of its Resilient Future Indexes, targeted at the transition economy, and the integration of private asset ESG data through strategic acquisitions like Burgiss, signalled a commitment to innovation across asset classes.

Real-world impact added further weight: The People’s Pension achieved an immediate 30% portfolio emissions cut using MSCI indexes, while major institutional clients — including NY State Common Retirement Fund and Finland’s Varma — made sizeable allocations to MSCI-aligned strategies.

With its index methodology aligned to regulatory frameworks and adopted by major asset owners such as Japan’s GPIF, MSCI secured this well-deserved second category win in 2025.

Best Climate Action: BNP Paribas Asset Management

BNP Paribas Asset Management stood out for a systematic and credible approach to climate investing.

While judges noted that some strategies are still building track records and more granular performance data would have strengthened the case, the firm nonetheless demonstrated meaningful progress on climate alignment — underpinned by a strong strategic framework.

Its Net Zero Roadmap and 10-point climate commitment provide a clear structure across investment, stewardship, and operations.

Judges highlighted the firm’s proprietary NZ: AAA framework and the reported 50% carbon footprint reduction in in-scope investments — exceeding its 2025 target — as evidence of a serious, goal-oriented approach.

The acquisition of IWC and launch of the BNP Paribas Future Forest Fund were viewed as important moves into nature-based climate solutions, while €22 billion in climate thematic AUM and €15.6 billion in Paris-Aligned and Climate Transition funds reflected the strength of investor demand.

BNPP AM’s active engagement in Asia, including leadership in Climate Action 100+ and its role in the Asia Protein Transition platform, reinforced its commitment to real-world impact.

Judges agreed that the firm is laying solid foundations for long-term climate performance and is well positioned to lead as these strategies mature.

Best Transition Finance and Renewable Energy Strategy: Aberdeen Investments

Aberdeen’s Climate Transition Bond Fund caught the eye of judges with this differentiated approach to climate investing in fixed income.

Unlike strategies that focus narrowly on portfolio carbon optics, abrdn’s fund targets companies from high-emitting sectors with credible decarbonisation plans, while also incorporating climate solutions and adaptation themes.

Launched in mid-2021 and classified Article 9 under SFDR, the fund applies a three-pillar framework — Leaders, Solutions, and Adaptors — to capture real-world impact through energy transition, infrastructure, and resilience projects.

As of September 2024, the fund had grown 30% year-on-year to $138.7 million, supported by strong demand and a gross return of 13.6% over the review period.

Judges noted that the fund’s cumulative impact to date includes 200GW of renewable energy capacity, tens of millions of tonnes of avoided CO₂, and major investments in climate adaptation across water infrastructure, forestry, and flood resilience.

The fund also stood out for its use of forward-looking, bottom-up research and proprietary green bond assessment tools as well as a strong grasp of EU taxonomy thresholds.

Transition Finance and Renewable Energy (Highly Commended): Robeco

Robeco did not make the top slot this year but stood out for its methodical expansion of transition finance into listed markets — an area where private capital and infrastructure-led strategies have historically taken the lead.

In 2024, the firm launched two new equity strategies focused on emerging markets and Asia, alongside the repositioning of two fixed income strategies, broadening the investable universe for climate-conscious investors.

Robeco’s proprietary Climate Analytics toolbox and ‘traffic light’ methodology helped distinguish credible transition leaders from laggards, backed by forward-looking decarbonisation assessments and clear sector pathways.

This science-based approach, particularly its Sector Decarbonisation Pathway and Robeco Climate Score, offers strong potential for long-term alpha generation.

While many strategies remain early in their performance history, judges saw Robeco’s frameworks as robust and scalable.

Its focus on supporting high-emitting companies with credible net-zero plans — especially in Asia and emerging markets — reflected a pragmatic and much-needed evolution in transition finance.

Best Nature-Based Solution: AmInvest

AmInvest’s submission reflected a clear focus on breadth, scale, and long-term intent in sustainable investment particularly in nature-based solutions, climate-linked themes, and broader ESG integration across asset classes.

The firm has steadily expanded its market share in Malaysia’s SRI fund space, supported by a detailed framework for ESG assessment and an active approach to engagement with investee companies.

By September 2024, AmInvest managed 10 of the 72 available SRI funds in Malaysia — the highest number across the market — representing 31.4% of total SRI fund AUM and signalling clear leadership in this fast-growing segment.

Judges noted the firm’s consistency in growing its sustainable product shelf, with a 5-year AUM growth of 22% and strong one-year performance across a range of strategies.

These included the AmSustainable Series – Sustainable Outcomes Global Equity Fund (33.7%) and the Nutrition Fund (30%), which target material impact alongside return.

AmInvest’s proprietary ESG scoring framework incorporates a range of environmental and biodiversity considerations, while its commitment to stewardship was reflected in more than 700 company engagements during the review period.

The firm also continues to evolve its internal governance, training and disclosure to align with best practices in responsible investment.