January 2020

07Jan

ESG future-proofing can help to defy market risks

The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (Eiopa) found in its most recent stress tests of European pension funds that sustainable investments would help them to withstand an adverse scenario. The 2019 occupational pensions stress test assessed the resilience of the European pension sector to identify areas of weakness and discuss possible preventive measures. Eiopa is part of the European System of Financial Supervision and supports the stability of the financial system, the transparency of markets and financial products...

January 7, 2020
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06Jan

Singapore charts path on green finance

WITH more global capital shifting towards sustainable efforts, central banks around the world, including the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), have been nudged to jumpstart the green transition. Last November, Singapore's central bank announced a US$2 billion green investments programme (GIP) to drive growth in sustainable finance. Under the scheme, MAS will channel funds to asset managers who are committed to deepening green finance activities in Singapore. These managers will in turn invest in public market firms with a...

January 6, 2020
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December 2019

31Dec

UK. Bank of England Governor warns of climate change threat to pension funds

Bank of England governor Mark Carney has warned pension schemes are at risk due to climate change unless they cut their investments in fossil fuels. The outgoing BoE chief made the comments in a pre-recorded BBC Radio 4 interview broadcast today (30 December). Read also UK. 20 key changes to tax, pensions, benefits, rail fares and more coming in 2020 He warned unless firms woke up to the 'climate crisis' certain assets would become worthless. Mr Carney said:...

December 31, 2019
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December 2019

27Dec

Latvia. Investments in Sustainable Pension Plan Exceed 2 Million Euro

At the end of May, Citadele Bank’s subsidiary, CBL Asset Management, created Latvia’s first pension plan whose pension savings are invested in businesses which are the most sustainable in their respective industries: protecting the environment, taking care of their employees and acting responsibly in the long term. In just over six months, Latvia’s first pension plan based on responsible investments has been able to attract a relatively large amount of attention from the public, and currently, total assets have...

December 27, 2019
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19Dec

ISLA forms Council for Sustainable Finance

The International Securities Lending Association (ISLA) has formed a Council for Sustainable Finance (ICSF), amid wide-spread market debate around the compatibility of asset managers’ lending programmes and the growing trend of socially-conscious financing. The council will be chaired by Radek Stech, who is also council chair and founder of the Sustainable Finance, the Law, Stakeholders (SFLS) network at Exeter Law School. It will sit for the first time in Q1 2020 and will operate for a five-year term. ISLA...

December 19, 2019
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16Dec

Ethics, ESG, and ERISA: Ethical-Factor Investing of Savings and Retirement Benefit

By Albert Feuer (Law Offices of Albert Feuer) Ethical-factor investing is investment decision-making that takes into account ethical factors. It includes faith-based investing, Environmental, Social or Governance (ESG) investing, and sustainable investing. It is becoming more and more widespread. This has occurred despite a lack of widely accepted definitions, performance metrics, or ethical preferences. There is increasing broad agreement that some ethical factors highlight business risks and opportunities in a predictable fashion, such as the effects of climate change, human...

December 16, 2019
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06Dec

The Real Effects of Environmental Activist Investing

By S Lakshmi Naaraayanan, Kunal Sachdeva, Varun Sharma Using a socially-motivated activist campaign by a large pension fund, we measure the real effects of activist investing on pollution and the environment. Targeted firms reduced their total toxic chemical releases, production-related emissions, cancer-causing pollution, environmental accidents, and legal risks. These effects do not come at the expense of lower financial performance or returns. We rule out natural alternative hypotheses while also presenting evidence supporting the external validity of socially motivated...

December 6, 2019
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November 2019

18Nov

German parliament approves climate protection law

The German lower house of parliament approved on Friday a major climate protection package which aims to ensure Germany will meet its 2030 target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Read also Can fintech bridge the inequality gap The package, agreed after months of haggling between the Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives and her Social Democrat coalition partners, has already been criticized as inadequate in view of the urgent challenges posed by climate change. Read also Impact investing is about more...

November 18, 2019
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September 2019

27Sep

Corporate Governance and Value Creation in Japan: Prescriptions for Boosting Roe

By Ryohei Yanagi This is the first book to furnish a root cause of the low valuation of Japanese listed companies by using, as qualitative evidence, unique global investor surveys, which are rarely available for Japanese companies. Also contained in this book as quantitative evidence is empirical research with regression analysis implying a positive correlation between corporate governance and value creation in Japan. The author explains the rationale underlying the suggestion of the Ito Review on return on equity...

September 27, 2019
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24Sep

Pension funds and insurers pledge climate action at U.N. summit

* New coalition wants to spur faster energy transition * Pension funds and insurers commit to zero carbon portfolios * Asset owners to engage with companies, but may also divest Insurers and pension funds managing $2.3 trillion pledged on Monday to shift their portfolios away from carbon-heavy industries in the hope of triggering snowballing climate commitments from other big investors. German insurer Allianz, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), and Swedish pension fund Alecta were among the founders...

September 24, 2019
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