While many companies are aware of the United Nation’s sustainable development goals, with some mentioning them directly in their disclosure reporting, only 12 per cent of those referencing the goals actually set quantitative targets for meeting them, according to new research by PIMCO. The research, which analyzed how 246 companies interact with the framework of the sustainable development goals, […]
Using a Canada-model pension plan, employees would see $5.32 in retirement income for every dollar they contribute compared to the typical $1.70 resulting from an individual approach, according to a new report by the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan. The report, The Value of a Good Pension, divides Canadian retirement options into five distinct types: an individual […]
The OPSEU Pension Trust’s board of trustees has appointed Tim Hannah as its new chair. Having most recently served as vice-chair, he is replacing Vicki Ringelberg, who will remain on the board. Hannah is a senior environmental officer with the ministry of the environment, conservation and parks, as well as a union activist. Read: Ontario Teachers’ makes three […]
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 […]
Both institutional investors and the companies they take stakes in must innovate to take meaningful action on climate change, says Hugh O’Reilly, president and chief executive officer of the OPSEU Pension Trust. “We have to accept that as an investor community, we haven’t done nearly enough,” says O’Reilly. “In light of that, from a certain perspective, […]
A group of financial institutions, including the OPSEU Pension Trust, is launching a climate-focused pilot project that will map potential future climate impacts on investment performance. The project aims to integrate quantified risks associated with climate change into standard, forward-looking financial scenarios that drive strategic investment decision-making, according to a press release. The investors involved will use […]
The OPSEU Pension Trust is setting out a climate change action plan, including eight areas of focus that aim to make the pension fund more resilient and agile in taking on the problem. “Climate change is one of the most significant challenges facing us today,” said Hugh O’Reilly, president and chief executive officer of OPTrust, in a […]
Visitors to BenefitsCanada.com who type in a web address for a broken link will find a page with a lighthearted reply that reads: “Like a newly launched defined benefit plan, this page also does not exist.” It doesn’t seem like a wild claim to make, but one employee at a pension plan did, at one […]
Facing a $10.3-million pension deficit in 2016, the Youth Services Bureau of Ottawa had some tough decisions to make. It felt that closing its defined benefit plan, converting to a defined contribution arrangement or cutting benefits were all out of the question. But with the Ontario government having enacted regulations in 2015 to permit the […]
In the wake of the tragic shooting at a high school in Parkland, Fla., earlier this year that left 17 dead and sparked a renewed and vigorous debate about gun control, certain members of the investment world took swift action. BlackRock Inc., the world’s largest institutional investor with US$6.3 trillion under management as of the […]