The Alberta Investment Management Corp. is co-investing in a commercial high-rise building in downtown Vancouver. Ownership in the 15,000 square-metre building will be shared with a fellow investor, Toronto-based commercial real estate and asset management firm Starlight Investments. Following the purchase, the building will continue to be occupied by employees of the federal government, which […]
The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec is planning to completely divest from oil production — roughly one per cent of its total portfolio or about $3.9 billion based on the size of its net assets as of June 30 — by the end of 2022, as part of its new climate change strategy. […]
With the federal Liberal Party returning for a third term, the government’s fiscal policy will remain aligned with a social agenda that should, in theory, support continued economic growth and, in turn, create opportunities for institutional investors, says Roshan Thiru, head of Canadian fixed income at Manulife Investment Management Ltd. “The Liberal Party continue to […]
The number of institutional investors using thematic sustainable investment strategies grew by about 20 per cent between 2016 and 2020, according to a new study by the U.K.-based data and analytics firm Coalition Greenwood. Sustainable thematic investment strategies are ones that target areas of investment where social or environmental needs create business opportunities. According to […]
The British Columbia Investment Management Corp. is becoming “more intentional about” its ongoing environmental, social and governance efforts in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, says Jennifer Coulson, vice-president of ESG and public markets for the investment manager. Its 2020 annual report highlights the BCIs’ expansion of its carbon footprint reporting to include all asset classes […]
As Exxon Mobil Corp. shareholders continue their bid to force the oil giant to deal more aggressively with climate change, several large U.S. institutional investors are backing a slate of alternative directors. The company announced Wednesday that three candidates nominated by a dissident group of shareholders, called Engine No. 1, had been elected to its board […]
A record return over the first full year of the pandemic has put the manager of Canada’s largest retirement fund years ahead of schedule to meet a long-term goal of having half a trillion dollars in assets by 2028. The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board reported that its funds earned 20.4 per cent net of […]
Employees at two Canadian pension plans are being recognized for their responsible investment achievements. The British High Commission and the Canada Climate Law Initiative named Barbara Zvan, inaugural president and chief executive officer of the University Pension Plan, and Kim Thomassin, executive vice-president and head of investments in Quebec and stewardship investing at the Caisse […]
The majority (86 per cent) of Imperial Oil Ltd. investors voted to defeat a shareholder resolution that the organization adopt a target to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. However, the vote held during the Calgary-based company’s virtual annual meeting exposes a rift between its parent U.S. giant Exxon Mobil Corp. — which owns 69.6 […]
The University of Toronto Asset Management Corp. ended 2020 with pension and endowment returns of 11.7 per cent and 11.6 per cent, respectively. In a press release, the UTAM said while the pension return matched that of its benchmark reference portfolio, endowments underperformed by 0.2 per cent. However, it noted long-term performance of the portfolios […]