Major extremes of wealth and poverty have the potential to destabilize the financial and social systems in which institutional investors operate, and should be treated as a long-term risk like any other, according to a new report by the United Nation’s Principles for Responsible Investing. Between 1988 and 2008, 44 per cent of rises in global […]
The OPSEU Pension Trust, together with British private equity firm Three Hills Capital Partners, has invested more than $89 million into ACT Commodities. The Dutch firm specializes in trading commodities related to reducing the use of fossil fuel and emissions of greenhouse gases. “In nine years, we have built the world’s preeminent trading house for […]
La Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec is launching an initiative to support the growth of companies owned by women. The program, Cheffes de file, will invite selected women entrepreneurs in Quebec who are leading promising companies, specifically decision-makers and shareholders of companies with sales ranging from $5 to $20 million. Functioning as a […]
Ryan Labs Asset Management Inc., a Sun Life Investment Management company, has signed on to the United Nations-supported principles for responsible investment. As a network of independent investment professionals, signatories of the PRI are proponents of responsible investing. Read: Survey finds larger asset managers more likely to dedicate resources to ESG “Becoming a signatory of the […]
The International Centre for Pension Management has released a guide for integrating climate change considerations into investment processes. “The ICPM climate change guide is unique from others of its kind because it was written by asset owners for asset owners,” said Deborah Ng, director of strategy and risk at the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and […]
Canadian investment managers had $2.1 trillion in assets using responsible investment strategies as of Dec. 31, 2017, a major jump from $1.5 trillion at the end of 2015, according to a new survey by the Responsible Investment Association. Indeed, responsible investing accounts for more than half (51 per cent) of Canadian assets under management, noted the survey. “Surpassing […]
Canadian institutional investors with stakes in fossil fuel companies can be held as much accountable for continued and escalating carbon emissions as the producer organizations, according to a report by the Centre for Policy Alternatives. While widely held Canadian fossil fuel companies aren’t controlled by a single institutional investor, they do own large chunks of equity, the report found. […]
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board is emphasizing the issue of gender composition on investee companies’ boards in its latest sustainable investing report. With this fifth area of focus joining climate change, water, human rights and executive compensation, the CPPIB is aiming to address the issues of gender diversity in relation to long-term investment. In 2017, the pension fund voted on measures at 45 […]
It was a bumpy ride for commodity prices between 2014 and 2016, a result of their close correlation to the state of the global economy. In particular, 2015 saw a major downward trend in many of the more frequently traded commodities, such as corn, gold, lead, silver, soy and wheat, with iron ore, natural gas […]
At 89 per cent, continental Europe has the most asset managers that are signatories of the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment, according to a new survey by Russell Investments. While the majority of managers surveyed are UNPRI signatories, participation varies significantly by region. Asia, excluding Japan, has no signatories, while 70 per cent of Japanese asset managers are signatories. […]