Research and ratings firm Sustainalytics is launching a set of environmental, social and governance indicators aimed at helping investors with security selection, portfolio construction, risk and scenario analysis, as well as meeting disclosure requirements. The data covers more than 220 ESG indicators across several themes, subdivided into three categories. The ESG management indicators are meant […]
While it isn’t Canadian, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission certainly has plenty of power to affect assets held by Canadian pension plans. A number of proposed rule changes recently brought forward by the SEC are raising Canadian institutional investors’ eyebrows. The Pension Investment Association of Canada submitted two letters to the SEC addressing potential changes related to […]
CARP is highlighting the need for further protections for defined benefit pensions in its 2020 Ontario budget priorities. The submission noted CARP, formerly the Canadian Association of Retired Persons, supports the steps taken by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario and the provincial government to bolster innovation in DB plan design, as well as reducing red […]
The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario is seeking feedback on its approach to monitoring single-employer defined benefit pension plans with benefits that could be at risk. The regulator said it will evaluate risks to pension benefits by their nature, size, complexity and potential impact on all plan stakeholders. It will focus its regulatory resources […]
In an unusual move for an index provider, MSCI Inc. is urging the investment industry as a whole to incorporate environmental, social and governance issues into their investment processes. “Really we think there’s an urgency,” says Remy Briand, head of ESG at MSCI. “We think there are still too many investors that are not realizing that, […]
Climate change’s ramifications for real estate, the rise of innovative technologies and the changing nature of stakeholder activism are some of the environmental, social and governance trends to watch as 2020 kicks off, according to an outlook from MSCI. While asset owners have been eyeing the potential effects of severe weather events and natural disasters […]
A potential Alberta Pension Plan would expose Albertans to material underwriting risks and the potential for political involvement in decisions about the plan’s investment policy, according to a new report. The report — authored by Keith Ambachtscheer, founder of KPA Advisory Services Ltd. and adjunct professor at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management — also estimated […]
With any pension investment, plan sponsors must follow the same steps: set a policy, select asset managers and ensure strong governance, monitoring and evaluation. Pension funds can take additional steps to better embed long-term principles throughout the entire investment cycle, according to a working paper by Alfred Slager, a professor of pension fund management at […]
Four more employers have joined the College of Applied Arts and Technology pension plan’s DBplus. In total, more than 1,000 new members from the Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Toronto, FP Canadian Newspapers and United Way of Greater Toronto are now in the plan, effective Jan. 1. In addition, law firm Wright Henry LLP joined in October 2019, according […]
Following similar moves in jurisdictions across Canada, British Columbia’s proposed changes to its defined benefit pension solvency funding requirements will take effect on Dec. 31. Under the changes, DB plan sponsors in the province will be permitted to fund to a solvency ratio of 85 per cent instead of the previous requirement of 100 per cent. […]