An article highlighting CGI Group’s initiatives for Mental Health Awareness Month was the most-read story on BenefitsCanada.com this week. Here are the top five human resources, benefits, pension and investment stories of the past week: 1. CGI Group promoting mental-health support through compassion tool, employee recognition 2. Gen Z reports worsened communication skills due to remote working, […]
The City of Montreal, which manages the joint fund of the city’s municipal employees’ retirement plan, says it intends to withdraw all investments from fossil fuel assets, according to a report by the Canadian Press. Read: 91% of Canadian institutional investors say climate change is top ESG concern: survey “This commitment is a first concrete step […]
Greenhushing — the withholding of sustainability milestones and other environmental investment goals by institutional investors and investee companies — is a trend that could already be on the way out, says Mary Jane McQuillen, head of environmental, social and governance investing at ClearBridge Investments, a subsidiary of Franklin Templeton Investments. The effects of greenhushing are expected […]
Environmental, social and governance standards have helped investors generate positive annualized returns, with environmental investments leading the pack globally, according to a new study from Amundi Asset Management. The study reviewed the annualized financial returns of long-short portfolios designed with a broad ESG theme and a more specialized approach in North America, Europe, China, India, […]
Roughly seven in 10 (73 per cent) Ontario Pension Board plan members believe environmental, social and governance factors should play a critical role in the plan’s investment considerations, according to a new survey included in the investment organization’s inaugural ESG report. The survey, which polled roughly 10,000 plan members, found nearly two-fifths (39 per cent) of […]
The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec is reporting $53 billion in low-carbon assets, including $15 billion in Quebec, representing an overall increase of $35 billion in low-carbon assets since 2017, according to the investment organization’s latest sustainable investing report. It found the investment organization has more than $330 billion in assets with a […]
As I write this column, I’m reflecting on the spectrum of weather I’ve witnessed this past winter. From my office window in southwestern Ontario, I looked out onto snowy rooftops for maybe a week over the last several months. That’s contrasted with a recent trip to Nova Scotia, where a series of winter storms brought […]
A growing wave of opposition to environmental, social and governance factors has turned life in the sustainable finance industry into something of a roller coaster over the last couple of years. But a little turbulence is to be expected, says Alyson Slater, managing director of sustainable investment at Manulife Investment Management, encouraging institutional investors to […]
As an institutional investor, Asif Haque knows the Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology Pension Plan has a responsibility to meet the rising challenge of climate change through responsible capital deployment. “[We] have a gigantic role to play in using our ownership and influence to engage with companies on their transition to a low-carbon future,” […]
Vestcor Corp. is reporting a 7.5 per cent return for 2023, despite the challenges of rising inflation and high interest rates. The New Brunswick-based investment organization achieved five- and 10-year annualized returns of 6.27 per cent and 6.73 per cent, respectively. In a press release, Vestcor noted these returns ensure its clients continue meeting their […]