December 2024
12Dec

How climate change will impact pension fund investment portfolios

Failure to transition to a low-carbon economy could cost pension schemes up to 30% in investment losses by 2050, according to new research. Analytics and risk management firm Ortec Finance analysed the investment portfolios of 30 large UK pension schemes based on exposure to climate change risks. It modelled seven different scenarios for the global transition away from fossil fuels and towards renewable energy sources, and found that real estate and listed equities were the most vulnerable asset classes if any...

December 12, 2024
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03Dec

Half of US pension returns at risk of climate change wipeout

By Mona Dohle   UK institutional investors are closely examining their transatlantic counterparts amid ongoing discussions about whether the so-called Maple 8 Model could be replicated in the UK to attract private investment in the country’s ailing infrastructure. However, the combination of a home bias alongside a relatively higher allocation to alternatives are precisely the factors that leave pension funds more vulnerable to potential climate risks, according to new research by Ortec Finance, a Dutch climate risk modelling firm. North American and Canadian pension funds find...

December 3, 2024
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November 2024
29Nov

Megatrends and the Future of Social Protection

By Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Ageing populations, changing labour markets, and climate change are affecting economies and societies across OECD countries. What challenges do these “megatrends” pose for social protection systems? What are the implications of these trends for the coverage, the effectiveness, and – critically – the funding of social protection today and tomorrow? With an eye towards informing future reforms, this report presents a broad stocktaking of population ageing, changing patterns of labour supply, new and emerging...

November 29, 2024
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19Nov

Danish pension fund targets Asian clean energy bets

By Hugo Cox   PensionDanmark, Denmark’s $51 billion pension fund, has identified clean energy solutions, including many in Asia, as its number one sustainability priority for 2025. It is aiming to build on existing direct allocations in the region, which include wind and solar projects in India, South Korea, Vietnam and Taiwan. “We are now heavily involved in green energy infrastructure development projects throughout the region," Jan Kæraa Rasmussen, head of ESG and sustainability at PensionDanmark in Copenhagen told AsianInvestor. "It’s a very important market...

November 19, 2024
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13Nov

Danish pension fund pushes for Japan, Korea to abandon coal

PensionDanmark, Denmark’s $51 billion pension fund, is calling on Japan and South Korea to completely wean themselves off coal-generated power by 2030. “We have decided not to finance new coal power planned after 2023 anywhere in the world," Jan Kæraa Rasmussen, head of ESG and sustainability at PensionDanmark told AsianInvestor. "Our ask for utilities in developed countries, including in Japan and South Korea, is that they present comprehensive plans to phase out coal as soon as possible. And that should be closer...

November 13, 2024
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12Nov

APG, AIA Thailand turn climate risk into investment opportunity

Two major asset owners discuss how they are deploying capital across the region and targeting sustainable investments in forestry, infrastructure, and green energy. For the nearly $600 billion Dutch pension fund investor, sustainable investment isn't just about ticking boxes – it's about wielding their considerable investment capital to address real-world climate and biodiversity challenges while delivering strong returns, according to Eric van der Maarel, chief executive officer of APG Asset Management’s Singapore office. "Allocating to megatrends with clear sustainability goals is...

November 12, 2024
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01Nov

Why older adults are especially vulnerable to climate change

When Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in 2005, people ages 60 and older accounted for 75% of the deaths. During the Pacific Northwest heat wave of 2021, most of the nearly one thousand who died were older adults. People over age 65 accounted for three-quarters of the deaths in Washington state; in Oregon’s Multnomah County, the average age of the dead was 70. In the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century — at Lahaina, Hawaii, in 2023 — more than two-thirds of the...

November 1, 2024
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October 2024
28Oct

BlackRock wants to talk about retirement. Climate, not so much

More than two years after BlackRock ran into a buzz saw of criticism from US conservatives over its advocacy for sustainable investing, the world’s largest money manager is attempting to change the subject. Chief executive Larry Fink has not used the word “climate” on an analyst call since January, and he mentioned climate, sustainability or the word green just eight times — out of 11,000 words — in his closely watched annual letter in March. These days, the $11.5tn asset...

October 28, 2024
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02Oct

US. Private equity firms ploughing billions into fossil fuels, analysis reveals

Private equity firms are using US public sector workers’ retirement savings to fund fossil fuel projects pumping more than a billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere every year, according to an analysis. They have ploughed more than $1tn (£750bn) into the energy sector since 2010, often buying into old and new fossil fuel projects and, thanks to exemptions from many financial disclosures, operating them outside the public eye, the researchers say. In many cases they are mortgaging workers’...

October 2, 2024
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September 2024
30Sep

Pension investors seek better means to force action on climate

Pension savers across the world are increasingly looking to invest their money in ways that help the climate. And, for those so inclined — whether as an employee with a workplace scheme or someone going it alone with a private pension — there are plenty of options available. Since 2022, UK pension schemes with more than £1bn in assets under management have been legally required to consider and report on climate-related risks and opportunities. Each relevant scheme should have a...

September 30, 2024
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