Both institutional investors and the companies they take stakes in must innovate to take meaningful action on climate change, says Hugh O’Reilly, president and chief executive officer of the OPSEU Pension Trust. “We have to accept that as an investor community, we haven’t done nearly enough,” says O’Reilly. “In light of that, from a certain perspective, […]
One of Canada’s largest pension fund managers says trillions of dollars should be shifted into investments that will counter global warming, in part because it’s crucial to long-term profits. Michael Sabia, president and chief executive officer of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, spoke Tuesday at a roundtable discussion on sustainable finance on the eve […]
Just one Canadian pension fund ranked in the top 20 global funds based on their responses to the recommendations of the task force on climate-related financial disclosures, according to new research by the Asset Owners’ Disclosure Project. The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, which was awarded a BBB rating, placed No. 16 out of the top 100 […]
The British Columbia Investment Management Corp. has published its investment plan for tackling climate change. Motivated by its clients’ interest in thoroughly understanding their exposure to climate change risk and opportunity, the plan outlines four core activities: managing risk, integration, seeking out opportunities and engaging and advocating. It will also comply with recommendations from the Financial Stability Board’s […]
Institutional investors that divested from fossil fuels in the past five years didn’t do so at the expense of returns, according to new data by Genus Capital Management Inc. The firm’s 2018 divestment report, which looked at the returns gained by its Fossil Free CanGlobe equity fund, showed it beat its own benchmark and the Canadian stock market […]
A group of financial institutions, including the OPSEU Pension Trust, is launching a climate-focused pilot project that will map potential future climate impacts on investment performance. The project aims to integrate quantified risks associated with climate change into standard, forward-looking financial scenarios that drive strategic investment decision-making, according to a press release. The investors involved will use […]
Pharmacare and flexible annuity options top the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association’s list of recommendations for the upcoming 2019 federal budget. In its submission, the association stated it’s supportive of the work being done through the federal government’s advisory council on the implementation of pharmacare, introduced in last year’s budget. However, it also said it’s important to […]
Climate Action 100+ is ramping up its action on climate change by highlighting a further 61 companies for institutional investors to focus on. The group is comprised of 225 global investors with more than US$26 trillion in assets under management, including several Canadian pension funds, such as the British Columbia Investment Management Corp., the British Columbia Municipal […]
The OPSEU Pension Trust is setting out a climate change action plan, including eight areas of focus that aim to make the pension fund more resilient and agile in taking on the problem. “Climate change is one of the most significant challenges facing us today,” said Hugh O’Reilly, president and chief executive officer of OPTrust, in a […]
Whether the aim is to reduce material risk, align pension investments with the organization’s overall philosophies or address a moral imperative, no pension fund wants to go through the trouble of diving in only to find its assets aren’t as green as it thought. With no standardized metric in existence, the word “green” could have […]