March 2022
21Mar

Asia’s immense opportunities for impact investing

Investors have always known their business decisions have a social and environmental impact, but there was not enough evidence to measure it. It was more like a fringe benefit. But with increased awareness, more empirical evidence, shifting brand perceptions and the explosive emergence of social media, more investors, big and small, are paying attention to environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks and investing with the intent to make an impact. In Asia, exciting developments in the impact investing market are opening...

March 21, 2022
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Incorporating ESG into retirement strategies
15Mar

Incorporating ESG into retirement strategies

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) has come to the forefront of policymaking within the financial services sector throughout the last the decade. Indeed, many industry leaders are keen to introduce ESG into their operations. A mixture of changing laws, regulatory rules, and growing demand from investors has influenced this push in collective conscientiousness that only took hold in the mid-2000s. In 2004 then UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan wrote to 50 CEOs within major financial institutions, inviting them to join an initiative...

March 15, 2022
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11Mar

UK. Pension schemes still playing ‘catch-up’ on ESG despite increased awareness

Just 10 per cent of pension schemes have a standalone policy on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues, research from Mercer has revealed, prompting concerns that pension schemes are playing 'catch-up' on improving ESG outcomes. The analysis, which utilised data from Mercer’s Responsible Investment Total Evaluation (Rite) analysis of more than 650 UK occupational pension schemes, also revealed that only 6 per cent of schemes have a standalone policy related specifically to climate change. And whilst stewardship was carried out for...

March 11, 2022
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Mainstreaming the Trasition to a Net-Zero Economy
10Mar

Mainstreaming the Trasition to a Net-Zero Economy

By Group of Thirty The evidence that climate change is posing unprecedented risks to our livelihoods is overwhelming. Atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2) have reached the highest levels in 800,000 years. Over the last three decades, the number of registered severe weather events has tripled. The cost of weather-related insurance losses has increased eightfold over the past decade, to an average of US$60 billion; and average uninsured losses from weather events have increased sevenfold. Still, these effects pale in significance...

March 10, 2022
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09Mar

UK pension funds increasingly look into impact investing

UK pension schemes seem to be taking impact investing increasingly into consideration, more specifically social infrastructure and affordable housing. According to a survey conducted by Pensions for Purpose and sponsored by Big Society Capital researching UK pension funds with total assets under management of around £150bn (€180bn), more than 50% of schemes hold some form of impact investment which focuses on positive social or environmental outcomes as well as financial returns. It also shows that 90% of respondents are looking to...

March 9, 2022
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07Mar

The Complex Formulas Of Responsible Investing

By William Baldwin Distinguishing good from evil on Wall Street is a challenge. Be grateful there are analysts doing most of the homework for you. An ethical portfolio excludes the shares of irresponsible companies. Which ones are those? Once upon a time that was a fairly simple matter. A handful of mutual funds had portfolios omitting certain industries, such as weapons, alcohol and tobacco. Today, separating good equities from sinful ones is an industry unto itself. There are thousands of analysts at work...

March 7, 2022
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‘ESG is too important to ignore’: What a shift to green investments means for your pensions
03Mar

‘ESG is too important to ignore’: What a shift to green investments means for your pensions

Pension schemes are being used to hit long-term Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) goals, which experts say may put your savings at risk. Pension schemes in the UK contain over £2.5trn of wealth, and the industry is considered a key part of the shift towards clean energy, according to the Government. It says pension schemes include the “largest single group of institutional investors in the UK, with significant influence over the flow of investments in the economy.” Coupled with their long-term investment...

March 3, 2022
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February 2022
22Feb

UK. Parliament pension fund makes ESG investments

The scheme’s annual report revealed that the fund is integrating environmental, social and governance issues throughout its investment process, while making a number of commitments to ESG-aligned mandates throughout the year to March 2021. Read also UK. DWP confirms GMP revaluation rate reduction First, the scheme invested in the BlackRock Global Renewable Power Infrastructure Fund III, making its first contribution in August 2020, with further capital calls made later in the year. Read also From human rights to recycling bins: how can...

February 22, 2022
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21Feb

From human rights to recycling bins: how can you define ‘ethical investing’?

Companies are facing increasing consumer and shareholder pressure to ensure the investments they make are ethical. But how do they define what’s ethical? Broadly, ethical investment is on the rise. According to the Responsible Investment Association Australasia (RIAA), about $1tn of the $2.24tn in managed funds is classified as responsible. That’s not just because Australians are becoming more aware of the impact their investments can have, but also because responsible or ethical investment is really starting to pay. Sustainable, environmentally...

February 21, 2022
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17Feb

Global Pension Assets Study – 2022

By Thinking Ahead Institute The Global Pension Assets Study estimates global pension fund assets across 22 major pension markets (the P22). These geographies now total a record US$56.6 trillion in pension assets and account for 76% of the GDP of these economies. The study, conducted by WTW and the Thinking Ahead Institute since the 1990s, includes an analysis of the seven largest markets (the P7): Australia, Canada, Japan, Netherlands, Switzerland, UK and US comprise 92% of total pension assets, unchanged...

February 17, 2022
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