January 2021

21Jan

Executive Compensation: The Trend Toward One Size Fits All

By Felipe Cabezon This paper reports the prevalence of a “one-size-fits-all” trend in the structure of executive compensation plans. The way firms distribute total compensation across different components of pay –salary, bonus, stock awards, option awards, non-equity incentives, pensions, and perquisites– is becoming more similar since 2006. In particular, 25% of the variation across firms disappeared in the last ten years. Using close votes surrounding Say-on-Pay’s implementation, I find that shareholders’ influence on management decisions causes part of this...

January 21, 2021
Articles, Labor Market, ,
Read more...

November 2020

24Nov

Sweden’s Kåpan ups green bond weighting, expands fossils strategy

Swedish government employees’ pension fund Kåpan Pensioner announced a series of environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives it has taken so far this year to up its game in sustainable investment, and said it plans to extend the scope of its fossil-fuel strategy. The SEK100bn (€9.8bn) fund also said it was increasing its mandate for green bonds, with its holdings of the environmental debt having grown in 2020, and had taken action to cut sustainability risk in its global...

November 24, 2020
News, Slider, , , ,
Read more...
19Nov

Pension transparency needs a benchmark

viaIn a first formal collaboration, Top1000funds.com and CEM Benchmarking have teamed up to develop the Global Pension Transparency Benchmark (GPTB). The GPTB establishes a new global benchmark that brings a focus to transparency in a bid to improve pension outcomes for members. Transparency, or lack of it around costs and other issues, has been a problem area for pension funds over many years, and in the industry there is room for improvement in this area. Transparency is a positive...

November 19, 2020
News, Slider, ,
Read more...
02Nov

US pension funds failing in climate change challenge

Fewer than one-in-five pension funds in North America have committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions across their portfolios by 2050 according to a study that underlines the need to accelerate the fight against climate change in the world’s largest pensions market. Read also Australian pension fund settles landmark climate lawsuit Just 17 per cent of North American pensions funds aim to reach net zero by the middle of the century while a further 8 per cent expect to reach...

November 2, 2020
News, Slider, , , ,
Read more...

October 2020

22Oct

US. Pension Fund Freezes New Investment With Apollo Over Founder’s Epstein Ties

A pension fund for Pennsylvania teachers said it had frozen new investments with Apollo Global Management amid concerns about ties between its founder, Leon Black, and Jeffrey Epstein. The $63 billion Pennsylvania Public School Employees’ Retirement System said it spoke with Apollo officials last week after a New York Times report detailed the financial ties between the two men. Mr. Black made at least $50 million in payments and donations to entities affiliated with Mr. Epstein in the years...

October 22, 2020
News, Slider,
Read more...
20Oct

Mercer CFA Institute Global Pension Index 2020

By Merced CFA Institute What makes a world-class pension system in 2020? Pension systems around the world are facing additional pressures in 2020. The widespread economic impact due to COVID-19 has had both immediate and long-term implications for retirees. Additionally, increasing life expectancies and rising pressure on public resources to support the health and welfare of older citizens will affect how citizens around the world will retire in the mid to long-term. “The economic recession caused by...

October 20, 2020
Adequacy, Books, Investment, Pension Management, Reports, Sustainability, , , , , ,
Read more...
16Oct

The Importance of Extending Diversity to the Retirement Plan Committee

This year, in particular, with the protests that sprung up across the country following the death of George Floyd, has shown many companies the importance of having a truly diverse workforce. And that principle should extend to the retirement plan committee as well as the workforce, experts say. While having a diverse committee is ideal, the first thing plan sponsors should do is select experts to sit on the committee, says Timothy Irvin, a director and corporate markets practice...

October 16, 2020
News, Slider, ,
Read more...
02Oct

AI Human Impact: Toward a Model for Ethical Investing in AI-Intensive Companies

By James Brusseau Does AI conform to humans, or will we conform to AI? An ethical evaluation of AI-intensive companies will allow investors to knowledgeably participate in the decision. The evaluation is built from nine performance indicators that can be analyzed and scored to reflect a technology’s human-centering. When summed, the scores convert into objective investment guidance. The strategy of incorporating ethics into financial decisions will be recognizable to participants in environmental, social, and governance investing, however, this paper...

October 2, 2020
Articles, Investing, ,
Read more...
02Oct

Could the ESG Sector Lead the Recovery of the COVID-Economy?

By Suresh Gamlath The June 2020 outlook for the world economy, forecast a ‘synchronised deep downturn’ much worse than the 2008 crisis and ‘an uncertain recovery’. The impact of ‘lockdown’ on economic activity had a profound effect on the fortunes of firms, households, and entire industries around the world. While some sectors were buoyed by the sharp growth of home-based online working and entertainment; an overwhelming majority experienced significant contraction as demand stalled. The likelihood of large-scale corporate collapse...

October 2, 2020
Articles, Investing, ,
Read more...
02Oct

Canadian investors acknowledge systemic racism, pledge action

A group of 31 Canadian institutional investors representing $2.3 trillion in assets has signed a joint statement acknowledging systemic racism against black and indigenous populations and pledging to take steps to integrate diversity and inclusion into their investment processes. Read also Canada’s pension fund plans to invest a third of funds in emerging markets by 2025. India is a major component The Canadian Investor Statement on Diversity & Inclusion has been signed by Canadian pension plans and money managers including...

October 2, 2020
News, Slider, ,
Read more...