British Columbia’s wildfires have crystallized the threats pension plan administrators across that province face from catastrophic climate change events, says Damara Kiceniuk, senior risk analyst of pensions at the B.C. Financial Services Authority. However, these fires are just one catastrophic risk pension funds have to manage. These risks have prompted the organization to release a discussion […]
An article on the federal government’s plan to scrap Canada mortgage bonds and the potential impact on pension funds was the most-read story on BenefitsCanada.com over the last week. Here are the five most popular news stories of the week: 1. Feds’ plan to discontinue Canada mortgage bonds may limit pension funds’ abilities to mitigate risk: PIAC […]
Environmental, social and governance investing is a powerful tool that can reveal systemic issues impacting all parts of institutional investors’ portfolios, said Aaron Bennett, chief investment officer of the University Pension Plan, during the 2023 Responsible Investment Association conference last week. Some of these issues can accrue over time — and, when they finally manifest, they can […]
The Public Sector Pension Investment Board is updating its proxy voting guidelines to communicate its views on sound corporate governance practices and climate change. According to the guidelines, boards of directors at the companies in which PSP Investments invests, are expected to ensure climate risks and opportunities are integrated into their strategy and operations. They […]
Several European pension plans are backing a lawsuit against Shell Corp. alleging its board is mismanaging climate risk and breaching company law. The lawsuit, launched by U.K.-based climate advocacy organization ClimateEarth, alleges Shell’s board of directors is failing to manage the material and foreseeable risks posed to the company by climate change. It also accuses […]
While it’s common practice for pension plan sponsors to factor climate risk into investment strategies, there’s more work to be done on factoring climate change into mortality and morbidity assumptions, says Bernard Morency, past chair of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries’ public affairs council and co-chair of its climate change and sustainability steering committee. “As […]
The British Columbia Investment Management Corp. is enhancing its climate change strategy to successfully navigate the global transition towards net-zero emissions. The investment organization’s priorities include that, by 2030, at least 80 per cent of its carbon-intensive investments have set mature net-zero aligned commitments or are the subject of direct or collaborative climate engagement. In a […]
Canadian investment managers had $3 trillion in assets using responsible investment strategies as of Dec. 31, 2021, down slightly from the $3.2 trillion reported in 2019, according to a survey by the Responsible Investment Association. The survey, which polled 77 asset managers and 13 asset owners, found more than nine in 10 (94 per cent) respondents are […]
Institutional investors must recognize the risks and opportunities presented by climate change and national efforts to mitigate it, says Jaakko Kooroshy, head of sustainable investment research at FTSE Russell. “Climate-related physical and transition risk threats to the global economy are real,” says Kooroshy, who leads a team that recently published a paper on the carbon reduction […]
The Public Sector Pension Investment Board is revealing details about its responsible investment strategy in a new report. PSP Investment’s responsible investment report highlights its efforts to integrate material environmental, social and governance factors into its investment process. It also includes a climate-related financial disclosure based on the recommendations of the task force on climate-related […]