Active investors should combine their own analytical work with the use of machine learning to get a leg up on their passive peers, according to a new paper. Fiona Frick, Unigestion’s chief executive officer, argued that, in an environment where institutional investors are using the same strategies and no one is left with an edge, active managers should use “collaborative […]
BMO Global Asset Management is appointing Nalini Feuilloley as director of its responsible investment team for North America. Nalini was previously head of Canada for the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment, where she managed the Canadian institutional investor clients and educated the broader investment community on environmental, social and governance issues and integration strategies. […]
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 […]
The Alternative Investment Management Association has published a new handbook on the Canadian alternative investment landscape. “Canada has a long history of excellence in alternatives,” says Belle Kaura, current chair of AIMA Canada and vice-president of legal and chief compliance officer at Third Eye Capital “The stage is set for the Canadian industry to reach […]
Canadian institutional investors want their portfolio companies to reduce their reliance on single-use plastics, according to a new opinion survey by the Responsible Investment Association. The majority (81 per cent) of respondents said they believe it’s important for their portfolio companies to reduce plastic waste, while 75 per cent said they’d like to invest in […]
Institutional investors should narrow in on the importance of human capital as an environmental, social and governance issue. “We know that ESG is about trying to balance the real world with the numbers,” says Sudhir Roc-Sennett, head of ESG at Vontobel Asset Management’s Quality Growth Boutique. So far, financial analysts have been relatively ill-equipped to measure a […]
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 […]
The guiding document outlining best practices for fiduciaries practicing corporate engagement is in for a major update. As of January 2020, the U.K. Stewardship Code will include new expectations on how those investing on behalf of savers and pensioners integrate the activities of investment and stewardship, including on environmental, social and governance issues. The code, as […]
While an angle on environmentalism can be applied to virtually every asset class, when it comes to bonds, it’s not easy being green. More specifically, there’s no real standardization for what constitutes a green bond, says Colin Purdie, chief investment officer for credit at Aviva Investors. Super-national organizations, such as the World Bank, pushed forward the creation of […]
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 […]