September 2021

UK. The trillions in our pension pots could be key to tackling the climate crisis

By Richard Curtis Someone said something really striking to me the other day – that weather used to be the last thing on the news, but now it’s the first. And it’s not good news. Fire, floods, drought – climate change in terrible and obvious action. It made me think of something I’ve been increasingly obsessed by – unexpectedly – which is pensions. Pensions used to be the last thing on our minds, certainly not something to talk about at...

El Libro Blanco de la Inversión de Impacto

Por Icíar Carmen Jiménez Barandalla La inversión de impacto ofrece la posibilidad a los inversores de contribuir con sus recursos a la solución de los problemas de la sociedad y el medioambiente, sin tener que renunciar a la obtención de rentabilidad. Es, por tanto, una vía de participación que ofrecen los mercados financieros a aquellos inversores dispuestos a asumir su responsabilidad en la mejora de los conflictos sociales y medioambientales. Ello exige fijar unos objetivos en la gestión de las...

Canada’s third-largest pension fund beefs ups plan to cut carbon emissions

Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board (OTPP), Canada’s third-largest pension fund, announced on Thursday new interim targets to cut the carbon emissions intensity of its portfolio as part of a plan to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. OTPP, which manages C$227.7 billion ($180.11 billion) in assets, plans to reduce emissions intensity by 45% by 2025 and 67% by 2030, from 2019 levels. Fellow pension fund Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec also has a net-zero target by 2050, but environmental campaigners...

Should ESG Funds Be In Retirement Plans?

Investors are pouring record amounts of money into mutual funds and exchange-traded funds that screen holdings based on environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors. Read also Study: As a population gets older, automation accelerates Yet, odds are most people won’t find an ESG fund option in their 401(k) retirement-savings plan. Just 2.6% of 401(k) plans had an ESG option in 2019, according to the latest data from the Plan Sponsor Council of America. Read also Canada’s third-largest pension fund beefs ups plan...

Potencial y limitaciones de la economía verde

Por Daniela García El concepto de economía verde regresa a Río de Janeiro retomando notoriedad, casi la misma que tuvo el de desarrollo sostenible cuando se introdujo hace cuarenta años. Actualmente, “el paradigma de la economía verde” tiene un papel central en las agendas y documentos de trabajo del sistema de Naciones Unidas asociándose, o a veces confundiéndose, con el desarrollo sostenible. La agenda mundial hacia una economía verde lograría el desarrollo sostenible y la erradicación de la pobreza. Además, ante...

2020 Annual Impact Investor Survey

By Dean Hand, Hannah Dithrich, Sophia Sunderji & Noshin Nova (GIIN Research Team) The 10th edition of the Global Impact Investing Network’s (GIIN) Annual Impact Investor Survey reflects insights from 294 respondents that collectively manage USD 404 billion of impact investing assets. Respondents shared their investment activity for the year ending 2019 and their plans for 2020, their reflections on developments over the past decade, and their views of future challenges facing the market. The report also includes longitudinal analysis...

Private pension plans in Latin America and sustainable finance

The private pension plan (PPP) market in Latin America is the region’s largest institutional client segment, with more than USD 900 billion in assets under management (AUM) at the end of 2020. And with projections forecasting AUM to reach USD 1.4 trillion by 2023, the PPPs are a reference point for smaller investors. Along with sovereign wealth funds (SWF), Latin America’s PPPs control a significant share of assets relative to GDP and thus can be very influential in the...

México. BIVA llama a tener políticas públicas para impulsar inversiones ASG

La Bolsa Institucional de Valores (BIVA) hizo un llamado a las autoridades del país para que trabajen en políticas públicas que impulsen las inversiones con criterios ambientales, sociales y de gobernanza (ASG), ya que si bien ha habido avances importantes, es necesario que crezcan más, pues la tendencia mundial de inversión se encamina hacia activos con estas características. La directora general de BIVA, María Ariza, reconoció que en 2020, la Comisión Nacional del Sistema de Ahorro para el Retiro (Consar)...

Sweden. AP2 continues sustainability journey with stellar returns and costs

Swedish buffer fund, AP2, has incorporated Paris-aligned rules into its benchmark construction for global and emerging market equities. This year it turns its attention to Swedish and Chinese equities. The moves come on the back of the best-ever half year return for the SEK421.2 billion fund and its lowest ever costs. AP2 is one of the originals, a long-time ESG investor that has sustainability at its core. It started to divest from fossil fuel exposed companies in 2014 with a rationale...

Sustainable investing gaining ground in Asia

Sustainable investing continues to gain ground in Asia, with governments, pension plans and asset managers moving to incorporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into their investment strategies, a new study finds. Globally, most pension fund investors stayed the course with their asset allocation, even amid heightened volatility and uncertainty over the last year, according Mercer’s Asset Allocation Insights 2021 report. Foreign equities now represent 51% of aggregate equity allocations globally, the first time since 2013 that exposure outside of investors’...