Michel Charron has had a front-row seat for the revolution in the Canadian investment industry’s approach to environmental, social and governance issues. Following the foundation of the United Nation’s principles for responsible investment in 2008, his firm, PBI Actuarial Consultants Inc., immediately signed up. But the concept required explanation for some pension plan sponsors, he […]
Institutional investors that are signed onto the United Nations’ principles for responsible investment had a higher five-year average net return compared to non-signatories, according to a report by CEM Benchmarking Inc. The benchmarking consultancy, which studied the net returns of 42 signatories participating in its database for five consecutive years ending in 2018, found that […]
Meeting a deadline in the midst of a pandemic seems like a good test of corporate resiliency and, according to a recent survey of Canadian Principles for Responsible Investment signatories that I conducted on behalf of my consulting firm Real Alts, the majority of respondents likely passed. The survey found that almost 80 per cent […]
There is nothing like a deadline to focus the mind. Asset owners and managers who are signatories of the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investments have just five weeks left to complete their annual report on their environmental, social and governance metrics, with the filing deadline being March 31. The challenge in the 2020 report […]
Have you ever noticed that the language of sustainable investment is rife with acronyms? In my opinion, 2020 will see some of the worst tongue-twisters become popularized parlance. Yet an increase in investors learning these bad alphabet jumbles will be a good thing as it will reflect increasing consensus on what’s important in the rapidly […]
Concordia University’s Foundation is divesting from coal, oil and gas within five years and will become the first university foundation in Quebec to target 100 per cent sustainable investments by 2025. The foundation is also doubling its target of impact investments by 2025, from five to 10 per cent. This long-term pool of capital is […]