January 2020

07Jan

ESG future-proofing can help to defy market risks

The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (Eiopa) found in its most recent stress tests of European pension funds that sustainable investments would help them to withstand an adverse scenario. The 2019 occupational pensions stress test assessed the resilience of the European pension sector to identify areas of weakness and discuss possible preventive measures. Eiopa is part of the European System of Financial Supervision and supports the stability of the financial system, the transparency of markets and financial products...

January 7, 2020
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07Jan

Beyond green ambitions

By Liam Kennedy Europe has lofty ambitions as it positions the European Green Deal as Europe’s growth plan for the coming decade and beyond. There is much to do to promote sustainability in Europe and the EU can undoubtedly blaze a trail. But the incoming Commission will also need to maintain its focus on the Capital Markets Union (CMU), the flagship economic policy of the previous Commission. One element of the CMU as announced in 2014 was indeed to foster...

January 7, 2020
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06Jan

Singapore charts path on green finance

WITH more global capital shifting towards sustainable efforts, central banks around the world, including the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), have been nudged to jumpstart the green transition. Last November, Singapore's central bank announced a US$2 billion green investments programme (GIP) to drive growth in sustainable finance. Under the scheme, MAS will channel funds to asset managers who are committed to deepening green finance activities in Singapore. These managers will in turn invest in public market firms with a...

January 6, 2020
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December 2019

27Dec

Latvia. Investments in Sustainable Pension Plan Exceed 2 Million Euro

At the end of May, Citadele Bank’s subsidiary, CBL Asset Management, created Latvia’s first pension plan whose pension savings are invested in businesses which are the most sustainable in their respective industries: protecting the environment, taking care of their employees and acting responsibly in the long term. In just over six months, Latvia’s first pension plan based on responsible investments has been able to attract a relatively large amount of attention from the public, and currently, total assets have...

December 27, 2019
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27Dec

South Korea. finalizes guidelines on pension fund’s shareholder activism

South Korea on Friday approved proposed guidelines for shareholder activism by the country's largest state pension fund, paving the way for the fund to press companies it holds stakes in to dismiss board members over breach of trust and other illegal activities. "The guidelines are part of efforts to manage the National Pension Service in a more transparent and fair manner," Health and Welfare Minister Park Neung-hoo said in a meeting of the management committee -- the highest decision-making...

December 27, 2019
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23Dec

Japan, European Development Bank Launch Social Bond Initiative

Japan’s $1.48 trillion Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) and the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) have launched a partnership to promote and develop sustainable capital markets. Their focus will be on social bonds, and the incorporation of ESG assessments in fixed-income investments. “GPIF requires all asset managers to integrate ESG into their investment analysis and decision-making,” Hiro Mizuno, CIO of GPIF, said in a statement. “We regard the purchase of green, social and sustainability bonds as one of...

December 23, 2019
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19Dec

ISLA forms Council for Sustainable Finance

The International Securities Lending Association (ISLA) has formed a Council for Sustainable Finance (ICSF), amid wide-spread market debate around the compatibility of asset managers’ lending programmes and the growing trend of socially-conscious financing. The council will be chaired by Radek Stech, who is also council chair and founder of the Sustainable Finance, the Law, Stakeholders (SFLS) network at Exeter Law School. It will sit for the first time in Q1 2020 and will operate for a five-year term. ISLA...

December 19, 2019
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16Dec

Ethics, ESG, and ERISA: Ethical-Factor Investing of Savings and Retirement Benefit

By Albert Feuer (Law Offices of Albert Feuer) Ethical-factor investing is investment decision-making that takes into account ethical factors. It includes faith-based investing, Environmental, Social or Governance (ESG) investing, and sustainable investing. It is becoming more and more widespread. This has occurred despite a lack of widely accepted definitions, performance metrics, or ethical preferences. There is increasing broad agreement that some ethical factors highlight business risks and opportunities in a predictable fashion, such as the effects of climate change, human...

December 16, 2019
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10Dec

Canada’s second largest pension fund gets deadly serious about climate crisis

As world leaders converge at this week’s climate summit in Madrid to debate how best to shift to a net zero-economy, Michael Sabia is leaving the helm of Canada’s second-largest pension plan having firmly placed Quebec’s retirement savings at the forefront of the global movement for low-carbon investing. Sabia, who recently announced he’s stepping down from the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) in early 2020, ushered in a fundamental change in how the $326 billion Quebec...

December 10, 2019
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06Dec

The Real Effects of Environmental Activist Investing

By S Lakshmi Naaraayanan, Kunal Sachdeva, Varun Sharma Using a socially-motivated activist campaign by a large pension fund, we measure the real effects of activist investing on pollution and the environment. Targeted firms reduced their total toxic chemical releases, production-related emissions, cancer-causing pollution, environmental accidents, and legal risks. These effects do not come at the expense of lower financial performance or returns. We rule out natural alternative hypotheses while also presenting evidence supporting the external validity of socially motivated...

December 6, 2019
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