The Public Sector Pension Investment Board is acquiring a 49 per cent interest in a U.S. wind facility through its existing stake in renewable energy company Pattern Energy Group Inc. Pattern Energy Group has agreed to pay $23 million to private affiliate Pattern Energy Group 2 LP for a 35 megawatt-owned interest in a wind farm based in Stillwater […]
While global institutional investors’ ability to analyze fixed income products on environmental, social and governance factors is growing, the supply of socially or eco-savvy bonds isn’t keeping up with demand, according to new research by Cerulli Associates. “Cerulli research shows an increase in demand for ESG in all segments of the fixed-income market,” said André Schnurrenberger, […]
As climate change restructures the Canadian Arctic year by year, institutional investors should be paying attention to this all but undeveloped economy, according to one expert. “For those that live there, the dominant narrative is about how climate change is remaking the Arctic from a frozen periphery to an area of immense geographic and economic […]
The number of indexes at an investor’s fingertips grew by 12 per cent (or 438,000) in 2018, rising to 3.72 million distinct indexes globally as of June 30, 2018, according to a new report by the Index Industry Association. The association, which began tracking the world’s indexes in 2017, found fixed income was a popular theme during the […]
On Nov. 7, 2018, the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) announced that it will be divesting from two U.S. publicly-held companies that operate private prisons. Then, on Nov. 14, 2018 CalSTRS announced it is part of a coalition representing $4.83 trillion in assets that joined together to promote five principles for a responsible firearms […]
Considering environmental, social and governance factors has traditionally been associated with equities, but demand for ESG in fixed income is starting to outstrip the supply of products available, according to new research by Cerulli Associates focused on Europe. “The inclusion of ESG factors in fixed income is becoming more widespread, with ESG data and ratings […]
When looking for equity investments, how do changes in a company’s environmental, social and governance profile impact its stock price? This month, MSCI released a report called How Markets Price ESG, which found that changes in a companies’ ESG profile have been predictive of changes in stock prices. The study also found that equity markets […]
In the midst of financial literacy month, what does member education look like in a defined benefit world where members don’t have to actively make investment choices? And how much do members need to understand about investments? While financial literacy is important, DB plans allow members to prepare for retirement without being financial experts themselves, […]
While 50 per cent of U.S.-based institutional investors currently don’t invest sustainably, 52 per cent said they plan to either maintain or increase their allocations to sustainable investment over the next three years, according to a recent survey by SEI Investments Co. In terms of sustainability issues, investors are most interested in renewable energy (58 per cent), followed […]
In 2018, there have been over 250,000 unique English articles focused on ESG issues across 8,000 companies according to data from TruValue Labs. But how does public sentiment influence the market pricing of firms’ sustainability activities? Harvard Business School Professor George Serafeim explores the relationship between public sentiment and how markets value corporate sustainability activities […]