April 2023

US. NYC pension leaders to seek emissions cut plans from fund managers

New York City pension leaders will press external fund managers, including private market fund managers, on Wednesday for details on their plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions, officials said. Public, and private market managers that have faced less pressure on climate issues to date, run most of the roughly $240 billion in New York City pension fund assets. Boards overseeing the majority of that money have approved new expectations for those managers, New York City Comptroller Brad Lander said, which...

‘Pensions have done more than most for ESG but it’s time for more action’

If the recent Treasury sub-committee on financial services regulations ("Greenwashing: sustainability disclosure requirements") is anything to go by, there remain far too many people in and around financial services who think we are doing a good job addressing sustainability challenges. We are not. Clients are confused, and despite pockets of excellence, sustainability challenges are getting worse not better. And neither of these will be addressed by investors sidelining real world problems or inciting ambulance chasing. Conflating welcome mass-market improvements, like entry level...

March 2023

Sustainable Investment: Best Practice Disclosure Checklist for Pension Funds

By World Bank Group There are compelling reasons for asset owners – in particular large pension funds and sovereign wealth funds – to adopt sustainable investment, and for governments to support them in these endeavours. First, asset owners have a key role to play in providing the capital that supports national economic and development goals. Second, sustainability issues – for example, climate change, labour rights, public health – are important drivers of investment value. Third, asset owners play a key...

ESG and Climate Change: Pension Fund Dos and Don’ts

By Randy Bauslaugh Pension fund administrators have a fiduciary duty to prudently manage financial risks and opportunities when investing plan assets and when managing plan operations that are paid from the pension fund. This includes the financial risks and opportunities associated with climate change and other environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues. But what are the legal dos and don’ts? Plan fiduciaries will always be on solid legal ground if they take ESG information into account for financial purposes – to...

Why all policies, including pension reform, must consider climate change

“Retrait, climat, même combat,” shouted protesters during the demonstrations taking place across France this past weekend against President Emmanuel Macron’s planned, and much opposed, reform of his country’s pension regime. For these protestors, retirement and climate change are all part of the same problem, the same fight. “No retired people on a burnt planet,” they insisted. The impacts of a warming planet on the world of work are absent from the French government’s plans, yet extreme weather conditions, in particular...

Canadian pension funds embrace ESG

Large Canadian pensions are making “impressive” progress on sustainable investments, according to the second annual Canadian Pensions Dashboard for Responsible Investing. The report examines the progress major Canadian pension funds have made in integrating ESG factors into their governance from 2020 to 2022. In just one year, the number of funds that have made public net-zero portfolio emission commitments by 2050 or sooner has grown from two to nine, which now accounts for or $1.8 trillion or 81% of total...

Perspectivas de inversión sostenible en América Latina: oportunidades para empoderar a sus habitantes y proteger el planeta

Por Alejo Czerwonko, Chief Investment Officer Emerging Markets Americas, UBS Financial Services Inc. (UBS FS); Brennan Azevedo, CFA, Emerging Markets Associate Americas, UBS Financial Services Inc. (UBS FS); Donald McLauchlan, Emerging Markets Strategist Americas, UBS Financial Services Inc. (UBS FS); Xingchen Yu, Emerging Markets Strategist Americas, UBS Financial Services Inc. (UBS FS); Chinenyenwa Amaechi, Emerging Markets Analyst, UBS Financial Services Inc. (UBS FS); Amantia Muhedini, Sustainable Investing Strategist, UBS Financial Services Inc. (UBS FS); Ronaldo Patah, Emerging Markets...

US. Biden uses first veto to defend rule on ESG investing

U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday rejected a Republican proposal to prevent pension fund managers from basing investment decisions on factors like climate change, in the first veto of his presidency. "I just signed this veto because the legislation passed by the Congress would put at risk the retirement savings of individuals across the country," Biden said in a video posted on Twitter. The bill cleared Congress on March 1, when the Senate voted 50-46 to adopt a measure to overturn...

European pensions increase ESG pressure on Asia property funds

Adoption of a real estate benchmark in Asia is increasing as leading European pension funds place reporting at the heart of their emissions reduction efforts. Pressure from investors outside Asia is increasing the quality and range of ESG data reported by Asian property funds, according to the leading global ESG benchmark for real estate. “There is increased pressure from asset owners who require their managers to participate in the annual benchmark, although this pressure mostly comes from non-Asian asset owners,”...

Pension Funds and Sustainable Investment: Challenges and Opportunities

By P. Brett Hammond, Raimond Maurer, and Olivia S. Mitchell Pension Funds and Sustainable Investment: Challenges and Opportunities responds to rising global interest in environmental, social, governance (ESG), and impact investing to generate positive impact while generating financial return. Contributors explore the pros and cons of pension ESG investments and discuss case studies from the US and around the world. The findings will interest researchers, management/advisory firms, financial advisors, asset owners, and policymakers Read book here