Diversity, equity and inclusion is a business imperative that has a direct impact on institutional investors’ overall performance. While investors can have the best strategy and all the capital in the world, human capital is critical to executing the organization’s vision and generating returns, said Sunita Mahant, senior director of legal affairs and head of […]
More than a quarter (29 per cent) of global employees said their employers are focusing on supporting workers’ physical and mental well-being to address growing skills and labour shortages, according to a new survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers. The survey, which polled more than 52,000 employees across 44 countries and territories, found respondents said their employers are also combatting […]
The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec is backing McGill University’s launch of a sustainable growth initiative, a program dedicated to providing businesses with actionable solutions for building a more sustainable economy. The SGI is a cross-faculty venture designed to help businesses aim for both profitability and achieving a positive social and environmental impact. […]
Cadillac Fairview is adopting a series of sustainable investing goals to help its portfolio achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. The real estate arm of the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan announced it would achieve net-zero emissions in its $35-billion portfolio before 2050 in stages. During the first stage, it aims to reduce its portfolio’s carbon emissions […]
While politics plays a role in most investment decisions, it tends to arise on a fairly localized basis, says Michael Craig, head of the asset allocation and derivatives teams at TD Asset Management Inc. In addition, its prominence as a factor usually rises and falls on a cycle, slipping easily off investors’ radar in times […]
The Public Sector Pension Investment Board is committing to using its capital and influence to support a transition to net-zero emissions by 2050, according to its inaugural climate strategy report. The strategy also includes commitments to curbing the intensity of its portfolio’s greenhouse gas emissions by at least 20 per cent, increase its investments in green assets […]
The focus on environmental, social and governance factors is a train that’s leaving the station, but some pension plan sponsors and institutional investors remain hesitant to hop aboard. Over the past decade, interest in incorporating ESG factors into investment decisions has increased. Indeed, a 2020 survey by investment consulting firm Callan found 42 per cent […]
Jesus had a fractious relationship with the financial sector of his day. For those who work at the intersection of religion and finance, the reverberations of his courtyard scuffle with a group of moneylenders remain the source of controversy. Fortunately for Derek Hurst, manager of the Pension Plan of the United Church of Canada, he […]
Idaho lawmakers are calling for a ban on investments in environmental, social and governance compliant companies by its state pension funds. Proposed by Republican State Senator Steve Vick, the bill would bar the state’s public sector pension plans from investing in companies that have made any ESG commitments. In its second reading, the bill received […]
Zillennial employees’ needs are going beyond traditional benefits to include a greater interest in an employer’s stance on environmental and ethical issues (45 per cent), as well as diversity, equity and inclusion (40 per cent), according to a new survey by MetLife Inc. The survey, which defined zillennials as a micro-generation born between 1993 and […]