Fitch Ratings Inc. is launching a new scoring system to show how environmental, social and governance factors affect individual credit rating decisions. Fitch is rolling the ESG relevance scores out across all asset classes, starting with non-financial corporate ratings, followed by banks, non-bank financial institutions, insurance, sovereigns, public finance, global infrastructure and structured finance. According to […]
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board is adopting a new global policy to improve gender equality and increase the representation of women on corporate boards. Under the policy, the CPPIB will vote against committee chairs responsible for director nominations at investee public companies if the boards don’t have women directors. Read: CPPIB highlights efforts to encourage women on […]
The vast majority (91 per cent) of Canadian institutional investors have adjusted their voting and engagement policies to focus more on environmental, social and governance risks, according to a report by marketing agency Edelman. The report, which surveyed 500 Canadian institutional investors, found 65 per cent have made policy adjustments within the past year. As well, […]
Share price dispersion remains prevalent in equity markets, but today’s active managers are having difficulty extracting alpha. They may not be looking in the right places. “A lot of them, I think, have failed in their stewardship responsibilities,” argues Ben Yeoh, senior portfolio manager, global equities, RBC Global Asset Management (UK) Ltd. “I don’t think […]
While many companies are aware of the United Nation’s sustainable development goals, with some mentioning them directly in their disclosure reporting, only 12 per cent of those referencing the goals actually set quantitative targets for meeting them, according to new research by PIMCO. The research, which analyzed how 246 companies interact with the framework of the sustainable development goals, […]
An animal welfare charity is facing legal action from a former employee who says he was fired after raising concerns about the organization’s pension investments and its links to companies that engage in animal testing. Jordi Casamitjana alleges the League Against Cruel Sports, a British charity that campaigns against activities like dog fighting and hunting, […]
In advance of the climate change conference in Katowice, Poland this month, 415 global institutional investors signed a statement reiterating their support for the Paris climate agreement, noting the actions that various global governments must urgently take. Among the investors, which represent US$32 trillion in assets under management, the Canadian signatories include the Caisse de dépôt et […]
As part of an effort to reduce the carbon footprint of its public investments by 25 per cent between now and 2025, the Fonds de solidarité FTQ has announced it will integrate the MSCI World Low Carbon ESG Target Screen Index. This makes the Fonds de solidarité FTQ the first investor to announce integration with this index. […]
Volatility is the traditional measure of risk, but environmental, social, and governance principles can help identify risks that may not reveal themselves in the volatility numbers — and lead to a broader assessment of portfolio risk. With that, investors can ask, “Am I really happy to take on that risk, or do I need to […]
A few decades ago, people were concerned about the depleting ozone layer. Then, in the late 1980s, the Montreal Protocol was ratified to phase out ozone-depleting substances. Fast forward to today: the ozone hole is shrinking and is expected to completely close by 2060. “That says to me that if you get policymakers, business leaders […]