An animal welfare charity is facing legal action from a former employee who says he was fired after raising concerns about the organization’s pension investments and its links to companies that engage in animal testing. Jordi Casamitjana alleges the League Against Cruel Sports, a British charity that campaigns against activities like dog fighting and hunting, […]
Capital allocated to sustainable, responsible and impact investing now accounts for around a quarter of total assets under professional management in the U.S., according to a new survey by the US SIF Foundation. In 2018, that represented US$12 trillion, a 38 per cent increase on US$8.7 trillion in 2016, which has been largely driven by asset managers. […]
While global institutional investors’ ability to analyze fixed income products on environmental, social and governance factors is growing, the supply of socially or eco-savvy bonds isn’t keeping up with demand, according to new research by Cerulli Associates. “Cerulli research shows an increase in demand for ESG in all segments of the fixed-income market,” said André Schnurrenberger, […]
As climate change restructures the Canadian Arctic year by year, institutional investors should be paying attention to this all but undeveloped economy, according to one expert. “For those that live there, the dominant narrative is about how climate change is remaking the Arctic from a frozen periphery to an area of immense geographic and economic […]
Major extremes of wealth and poverty have the potential to destabilize the financial and social systems in which institutional investors operate, and should be treated as a long-term risk like any other, according to a new report by the United Nation’s Principles for Responsible Investing. Between 1988 and 2008, 44 per cent of rises in global […]
La Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec is launching an initiative to support the growth of companies owned by women. The program, Cheffes de file, will invite selected women entrepreneurs in Quebec who are leading promising companies, specifically decision-makers and shareholders of companies with sales ranging from $5 to $20 million. Functioning as a […]
Canadian investment managers had $2.1 trillion in assets using responsible investment strategies as of Dec. 31, 2017, a major jump from $1.5 trillion at the end of 2015, according to a new survey by the Responsible Investment Association. Indeed, responsible investing accounts for more than half (51 per cent) of Canadian assets under management, noted the survey. “Surpassing […]
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board is emphasizing the issue of gender composition on investee companies’ boards in its latest sustainable investing report. With this fifth area of focus joining climate change, water, human rights and executive compensation, the CPPIB is aiming to address the issues of gender diversity in relation to long-term investment. In 2017, the pension fund voted on measures at 45 […]
At 89 per cent, continental Europe has the most asset managers that are signatories of the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment, according to a new survey by Russell Investments. While the majority of managers surveyed are UNPRI signatories, participation varies significantly by region. Asia, excluding Japan, has no signatories, while 70 per cent of Japanese asset managers are signatories. […]
A group of U.S. institutional investors is petitioning the Securities and Exchange Commission to impose an obligation on companies to report on certain prescribed environmental, social and governance issues. “In response to changing business norms and pressure from investors, most of America’s largest public companies are attempting to provide additional information to meet these changing […]