MSCI Inc. is awarding emerging market status to the MSCI Kuwait Indexes as the country’s equity market now meets the required criteria for reclassification. The reclassification will be part of the MSCI’s May 2020 semi-annual review. In late October, the Kuwait Capital Market Authority resolved to amend certain provisions of the executive bylaws and rules […]
MSCI is making its ratings on environmental, social and governance issues publicly available off the back of growing interest from numerous stakeholders. This move is part of MSCI ESG Research’s mission to help investors, companies and other industry stakeholders identify the most financially relevant ESG risks and opportunities, through greater transparency and access to ESG […]
Indexes have been around for decades, but what does all of that accumulated data actually tell investors? The Russell 3000 index, which was created in 1984, captures approximately 98 per cent of U.S. traded equities. In order to fully replicate the U.S. market, an index would need to hold around 1000 more stocks, many of […]
When investing in Brazil, what considerations should institutional investors keep in mind? And how can the market fit into a pension portfolio? One issue to watch is pension reform, said Heather Hagerty, a research analyst at Fidelity Investments, during the Canadian Investment Review’s podcast “Pension Passport.” “Brazil is one of only a small number of […]
MSCI Inc. is updating certain key indexes, with changes taking effect when the market closes on Tuesday. Stemming from MSCI’s most recent quarterly index review, the changes include increasing both Saudi Arabian stocks and China A-shares within the emerging markets index. The updates will mark the second and final step in the inclusion of the MSCI Saudi Arabia index, […]
FTSE Russell is launching a government bond index that weighs countries’ preparedness and resilience to climate change risk. A spin-off of the FTSE world government bond index, the new FTSE climate risk-adjusted world government bond index will include the sovereign bonds of 22 developed markets. In order to establish its climate-risk weightings, FTSE is using […]
Subject to certain conditions, MSCI is set to promote its Kuwait index to emerging market status beginning June 2020. Later this fall, Kuwait’s financial markets are planning to open up to foreign institutional investors in new ways. If all proceeds as planned, the Kuwait index will be included in MSCI’s emerging markets index, which will […]
While taking an active approach to investment management is paying off for the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, the Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s actively managed returns are similar to what they would be if it had taken a passive approach, according to a new report by the parliamentary budget officer. The PBO prepared the […]
With global and domestic equities rallying in the first quarter of 2019, Canadian defined benefit plan returns were lifted to 7.2 per cent in the first three months of the year, according to RBC Investor and Treasury Services’ universe of DB pension plans. This compares with a negative return of 3.5 per cent for the fourth […]
Amid the growing popularity of incorporating environmental, social and governance factors in investing, a Dutch pension fund is partnering with index-provider FTSE Russell to design a custom passive index that incorporates some of the United Nations’ sustainable development goals. Pensioenfonds Detailhandel has been incorporating ESG principles for almost five years, says Henk Groot, head of investments […]