BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, will make climate change central to its investment decisions. Founder and chief executive officer Laurence Fink, who oversees the management of about $7 trillion in funds, said in his influential annual letter to CEOs Tuesday that he believes we are “on the edge of a fundamental reshaping of finance” […]
A new economic report says the next decade in Canada will increasingly be shaped by the twin forces of climate change and demographic disruption from an aging population. “By 2030, Canada’s economy could look significantly different,” says the RBC report released Monday, dubbed Navigating the 2020s. “A country whose economic identity has long been bound […]
A majority (59 per cent) of global institutional investors said they’re dissatisfied with publicly traded companies’ climate-related disclosures, according to a new survey by the Global Sustainable Investment Alliance. The survey, which polled investors in Australia, Canada, Europe, Japan, the United Kingdom and United States, found 40 per cent of respondents described themselves as somewhat […]
The Canada Pension Plan isn’t taking sufficient action to address climate change, according to a new report by the Corporate Mapping Project and the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. Specifically, the report said the CPPIB isn’t investing with the goal of limiting the global rise in temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius. “Within its public equities […]
The majority (70 per cent) of global institutional investors agree that sustainability will play a more important role in investments over the next five years, according to a new survey by Schroders. The survey, which polled 650 investors responsible for US$25.4 trillion under management, found this response was most prevalent in Europe (84 per cent) and Asia Pacific […]
Michael Sabia, president and chief executive officer of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, is stepping down from the role in February 2020. During Sabia’s 11 years as head of the Caisse, its investments have yielded a 9.9 per cent average return, with a heavy focus on the diversification and globalization of its assets. “Leading CDPQ […]
Some have suggested there could be a return premium to lowering the carbon intensity of a portfolio. By constructing low carbon strategies called decarbonization factors, which go long on lower carbon investments and short on higher ones, it’s certainly possible, according to a paper authored by professor George Serafeim from the Harvard Business School along […]
A plethora of overlapping terms can make a conversation about responsible investing something of a minefield. While there are many terms that are used interchangeably, there are slight differences to them, said Liza McDonald, head of responsible investment at First State Super, in a video series hosted by Willis Towers Watson’s Thinking Ahead Institute. For […]
Proxy voting played a major role in the Alberta Investment Management Corp.’s responsible investment strategy during the past year, according to its newly released annual responsible investment report for 2018-19. During the 2018/19 proxy voting season the AIMCo reviewed and approved more than 30,000 ballot items and voted on 99 per cent of 3,324 meetings […]
Globally, institutional investors are shifting more of their assets to an environmental, social and governance-based approach, with year-over-year increases in Canada, the U.S. and the U.K., according to a new survey by RBC Global Asset Management. Regionally, the percentage of survey respondents that reported using ESG principles “significantly” as opposed to “somewhat” rose slightly in […]