“It’s not up to us to save the world.” This was the response I received from a trustee of one of the UK’s largest pension schemes recently to my pitch for impact investment. The reaction was familiar. The paucity of data showing that you can “do well by doing good” makes it easy for schemes to ignore commentators who insist upon it. Yet for all the myths that have grown up discouraging this type of investing, institutional investors who...
The German lower house of parliament approved on Friday a major climate protection package which aims to ensure Germany will meet its 2030 target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Read also Can fintech bridge the inequality gap The package, agreed after months of haggling between the Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives and her Social Democrat coalition partners, has already been criticized as inadequate in view of the urgent challenges posed by climate change. Read also Impact investing is about more...
Sura Asset Management se convirtió en signatario de los Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), con lo que se compromete a adoptar prácticas en temas de inversión ambiental, social y de gobierno corporativo (ASG). “Lo que nos permite esta firma es continuar avanzando y madurando los procesos de inversión ASG, porque toma tiempo adaptarnos y le daremos más prioridad a este tipo de inversiones”, explicó Juan Camilo Osorio, vicepresidente de inversiones en Sura Asset Management. Lee también México. Afores...
Mark McVeigh, a 24-year-old environmental scientist from Australia, won’t be able to access his retirement savings until 2055. But, concerned about what the world may look like then, he’s taking action now, suing his A$57 billion ($39 billion) pension fund for not adequately disclosing or assessing the impact of climate change on its investments. The Federal Court battle is shaping up to be a unique test case. Are pension funds in breach of their fiduciary duties by failing to...
A new study shows that the two largest pension funds in the US—the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS)—as well as the Colorado Public Employees’ Retirement Association, combined missed out on $19 billion in investment returns over the last decade by investing in fossil fuel stocks. The study is the latest salvo by environmentalists in their battle to convince the large pension funds to divest their portfolios of the stocks of...
Worldwide, retirement funds are warming up to the idea of environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing. However, most funds have yet to move from appreciating the rationale for ESG investing to actually making such investments. The reason is regulation that, with a few exceptions — notably SA — is not particularly ESG friendly. SA retirement fund regulation goes much further in encouraging ESG investing than jurisdictions such as the US, making the country worth watching — as we saw...
Published today, IOPS Supervisory guidelines on the integration of ESG factors in the investment and risk management of pension funds highlight a range of challenges to be met by pension funds governing bodies, asset managers and pension supervisors. Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors are key and timely issues for the investment and risk management of pension funds, whose consideration is relatively new in the landscape of regulatory frameworks of pension funds worldwide. They are also dynamically evolving and...
The largest public pension fund in the United States is divesting from the two major for-profit prison companies running migrant detention facilities for the federal government, the California Faculty Association announced following a meeting with the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) on Friday. Read also Where does retirement income come from in the US? The move by CalPERS is part of a larger trend by pension funds and businesses that have pulled their financial backing from GEO Group and...
Ageing populations continue to be a significant issue for many economies as we are living longer and fertility rates continue to decline. Pension systems are becoming more important than ever as households want to maintain their living standards throughout retirement. But how is this possible, especially within the economic environment of low interest rates and reduced economic growth? There are implications for employers, employees, governments, as well as the pension funds. Pension reform is being considered in many countries,...
Asia lags behind Europe and other regions in constructing investment portfolios that consider environmental and social factors along with returns, despite rising demand for such products among investors globally, according to industry leaders. But, that is beginning to change as more and more funds are shifting to so-called environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategies in Japan, and China will require listed companies and bond issuers to disclose environmental and social risks in their businesses beginning in 2020, they said....
