In case you missed it, a recent legal opinion by pension lawyer Randy Bauslaugh suggested plan sponsors might be personally liable for failing to consider risks posed by climate change in the institutional investment decision-making process. Bauslaugh’s paper connected the dots between the current evidence on the materiality and urgency of the financial implications of climate change and the recent reflection of this […]
By encouraging employees to be their authentic selves at work, pension plans can make better investment decisions, says Adrian Mitchell, vice-president of public equities at the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan. “I think having some out LGBTQ people around demonstrates to everyone else it’s safe to be who you are. We’re going to make better […]
The Pension Investment Association of Canada is urging the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to adopt new rules mandating enhanced disclosures of climate risks and other environmental, social and governance factors. In a letter submitted by Natasha Trainor, PIAC’s chair, the association said it supports regulatory proposals that would require businesses to disclose more information on […]
The Public Sector Pension Investment Board is reporting a net return of 18.4 per cent in fiscal 2021. As of March 31, 2021, the PSP had $204.5 billion in net assets under management, up 20.4 per cent from $169.8 billion at the end of the previous fiscal year. The PSP also reported a 10-year annualized […]
A report from the U.K.-based watchdog group Hong Kong Watch is criticizing three major Canadian pension funds for investing in Chinese businesses involved in human rights violations. The report says the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board, the British Columbia Investment Management Corp. and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan have invested more than $12 billion in companies reported […]
Representatives from eight of Canada’s largest pension funds — known as the Maple Eight — participated in the first meeting of the Sustainable Finance Action Council last week. On June 11, representatives of the Alberta Investment Management Corp., the British Columbia Investment Management Corp., the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, the Canada Pension […]
The British Columbia Investment Management Corp. is becoming “more intentional about” its ongoing environmental, social and governance efforts in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, says Jennifer Coulson, vice-president of ESG and public markets for the investment manager. Its 2020 annual report highlights the BCIs’ expansion of its carbon footprint reporting to include all asset classes […]
As Exxon Mobil Corp. shareholders continue their bid to force the oil giant to deal more aggressively with climate change, several large U.S. institutional investors are backing a slate of alternative directors. The company announced Wednesday that three candidates nominated by a dissident group of shareholders, called Engine No. 1, had been elected to its board […]
The University of Waterloo is committing to reducing the carbon footprint of its pension and endowment investment portfolios by 50 per cent by 2030, with the goal of achieving full carbon neutrality by 2040. “With this new commitment, the university is . . . aligning its investment practices with its teaching, research and operations on climate change, […]
A record return over the first full year of the pandemic has put the manager of Canada’s largest retirement fund years ahead of schedule to meet a long-term goal of having half a trillion dollars in assets by 2028. The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board reported that its funds earned 20.4 per cent net of […]