Taylor Guitars is moving to a 100 per cent employee-ownership model with the help of the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan and Canadian non-profit Social Capital Partners. Founded by Bob Taylor and Kurt Listug 46 years ago, the U.S. guitar maker has adopted an employee stock ownership program structure, enabling its staff around the globe […]
An insurance holding company backed by the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan is making its inaugural transaction, valued at US$1 billion. Constellation Insurance Holdings Inc. will acquire Ohio National Mutual Holdings Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiary Ohio National Financial Services Inc., a deal that includes both member […]
Imperial Oil Ltd. is recommending investors attending its annual meeting in May vote against a shareholder resolution that it adopt a corporate-wide target to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. The motion, made by Aequo Shareholder Engagement Services on behalf of Quebec group retirement system Bâtirente, argues that Imperial’s current 2023 emissions-reduction target is a step in […]
While the coronavirus pandemic is continuing to shape global markets following a tumultuous 2020, institutional investors are looking beyond the crisis, says Rob Almeida, portfolio manager and global investment strategist at MFS Investment Management Canada Ltd. “It’s no different how we thought about it last year, it’s just that the environment has changed. It’s about […]
Nike Inc. has released a series of diversity, equity and inclusion targets it aims to achieve over the next five years and announced it’ll tie executive compensation to meeting them and its broader environmental, social and governance efforts. “Our Purpose 2025 Targets are not just aspirations. They are a call to action — with clear […]
Quebec-based pension fund Bâtirente is applauding CIBC for joining the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials. Through the industry initiative, the bank will publish the greenhouse-gas emissions associated with its loans and investments and consider the adoption of reduction targets aligned with the Paris Agreement, according to a press release. A shareholder proposal submitted by the […]
The Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan is making diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives a top priority, including a commitment to combat anti-Black systemic racism. Elena Palumbo-Sergnese, senior vice-president of human resources at the HOOPP, says the fund’s strategy encompasses four main approaches. These include the embedding of DEI into core processes and success measurements, allowing […]
The British Columbia Investment Management Corp. is committing to five-year climate-related targets for its public markets program. The pension fund is targeting a cumulative $5-billion investment in sustainability bonds and a 30 per cent reduction of carbon exposure in its global public equities portfolio by 2025, according to a press release, which noted the targets […]
While all environmental, social and governance factors are increasingly important to Canada’s institutional investors, it’s the social aspect that’s been a key driver of investment choices. David Ryan, executive vice-president of corporate and financial communications at Edelman Canada, says 74 per cent of Canadian institutional investors surveyed in 2020 prioritized social factors over environmental and […]
A coalition of Canadian university endowments and pension plans are launching a new initiative to engage investee corporations on climate change risks. The initiative will engage with North American public companies held in university endowment and pension portfolios and will focus on sectors including finance, transportation, energy and utilities and manufacturing, according to a press […]