Alberta’s oil sands are a controversial topic for Canada’s socially responsible investing (SRI) community. The 140,000-square-kilometre region has become a front-line issue for investors concerned about climate change. Yet, Canadian SRI retail and institutional investors can’t afford to ignore energy companies working in the sector, since energy makes up approximately 30% of the TSX. “It’s […]
Despite the current financial crisis, Canadian pension plans are not cutting back on their socially responsible investing (SRI) commitments. “We’ve seen no reduction in interest from institutional investors,” said Jordan Berger, principal with Mercer Investment Consulting, speaking during a panel discussion at the Canadian Business Ethics Research Network’s second annual SRI Cluster in Ottawa on […]
The Ontario government has passed a motion calling on the province’s securities regulator to review current corporate reporting standards and to produce recommendations for enhanced disclosure. The resolution calls on the Ontario Securities Commission to review its current reporting requirements, consult with concerned stakeholders and to produce recommendations to enhance disclosure. The OSC should be […]
Sustainable and social investment advocates may be feeling short-changed by last week’s G20 summit in London, despite a pledge by world leaders to set aside more than $1 trillion US in an effort to overhaul the financial system and keep the global economy from slipping into a depression. For the first time ever, six regional […]
Canada’s defined benefit (DB) pension plans are near the tipping point, and the federal government must take action soon to avoid a crisis in the near future, according to the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (CIA). The Department of Finance began public consultations today on the legislative and regulatory framework for federally regulated private pension plans. […]
Standard & Poor’s continues its push to create new market indexes focused on the environment, announcing the S&P U.S. Carbon Efficient Index, designed to measure the performance of large cap, publicly-traded American firms whose carbon footprints are lower than their peers. The new index provides a benchmark to the market, as represented by the parent […]
A group representing hundreds of the world’s largest pension funds says institutional investors must accept their share of responsibility for the “the largest financial crisis in a generation.” Signatories to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment, including the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Quebec’s Caisse de dépôt et placement, issued a joint statement […]
Vancity Circadian Monthly Income Fund and Inhance Monthly Income Fund Class A were the top two SRI mutual funds in Canada last year, according to Corporate Knights magazine’s seventh annual survey of the country’s SRI universe. Ethical Balanced Fund placed third, followed by the Ethical Advantage 2010 Fund and the Ethical Advantage 2030 Fund. Meritas […]