A plethora of overlapping terms can make a conversation about responsible investing something of a minefield. While there are many terms that are used interchangeably, there are slight differences to them, said Liza McDonald, head of responsible investment at First State Super, in a video series hosted by Willis Towers Watson’s Thinking Ahead Institute. For […]
Canada’s retirement system jumped one spot to ninth place in Melbourne Mercer’s annual global pension index. Comparing 37 global retirement systems, the report found the Canadian system showed improvement partly due to the growth in assets under the Canada Pension Plan and the Quebec Pension Plan. It also demonstrated a link between the increasing household debt in developed and […]
Globally, institutional investors are shifting more of their assets to an environmental, social and governance-based approach, with year-over-year increases in Canada, the U.S. and the U.K., according to a new survey by RBC Global Asset Management. Regionally, the percentage of survey respondents that reported using ESG principles “significantly” as opposed to “somewhat” rose slightly in […]
The majority (85 per cent) of global investment professionals said responsible investing is at least somewhat important to their organization, up from 68 per cent in 2018, according to a new survey by Aon. The survey found this growth occurred across all geographic regions and institutional investor types, including corporate pension plans, public pensions, defined […]
A group of institutional investors, including numerous large Canadian defined benefit pension plans, has released a handbook outlining their experiences implementing the recommendations from the task force on climate-related financial disclosures. The Canadian plans include the Alberta Investment Management Corp., the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, the […]
As membership in traditional defined benefit pension plans continues to decline, it’s becoming more common to see “contingent” plans — including target-benefit, shared-risk, multi-employer and jointly sponsored — which require members to take on at least some of the risk that benefits may or may not meet expectations. At the same time, the term “sustainability” is […]
An alliance of the world’s largest pension funds and insurers responsible for more than US$2.4 trillion in investments is committing to carbon-neutral investment portfolios by 2050. The commitment was launched by the newly formed, United Nations-convened Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance. It was introduced at the UN Climate Action Summit to strengthen commitments and accelerate the implementation of […]
The University of California is dumping fossil fuel investments from its nearly $84 billion pension and endowment funds, calling them a financial risk. An opinion article in Tuesday’s Los Angeles Times says the university will make its endowment fund “fossil free” by month’s end and its pension fund, which covers 320,000 people, will soon follow. Read: Divesting from […]
Amid growing concern about the financial risks of climate change, a pair of Canadian law professors is launching an effort to help corporate directors and pension trustees better understand the issue. The academics — Dr. Janis Sarra from the University of British Columbia and professor Cynthia Williams from Osgoode Hall Law School at York University […]
While many financial institutions are issuing green bonds, Sun Life Financial is the first insurance company globally to issue a sustainability bond, which will cover investments in both green assets and other assets serving a broader social purpose. Last week, Sun Life announced it’s issuing a $750 million principal amount of Series 2019-1 subordinated unsecured […]