July 2024
05Jul

Judge throws out anti-ESG lawsuit against New York City pension funds

A New York state judge has thrown out a lawsuit against three of the five pensions funds in the $264.3 billion NYC Retirement System, saying New York State Supreme Court Judge Andrea Masley ruled July 2 that she dismissed the complaint because “plaintiffs here have not, and will not, suffer any monetary losses based upon defendants’ investment decisions.” Plaintiffs contended the pension funds' investment decisions would impair their ability to provide long-term benefits for retirees, an allegation Masley wrote was “speculative.” The judge supported...

July 5, 2024
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02Jul

UK. DC pension schemes see rise in investments in assets with climate targets

The defined contribution (DC) pension scheme market has seen almost a quarter (23%) increase in schemes’ investment in assets with climate targets since 2021, according to research from Barnett Waddingham. The majority (86%) of DC pension schemes have set targets to reach net-zero by 2050, with 18% of these targeting 2040. Of the pension schemes that have set net-zero targets, 81% have committed to achieving interim targets, in many cases aiming to achieve a 50% emissions reduction by 2030. Barnett Waddingham said:...

July 2, 2024
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June 2024
28Jun

The list of money managers axing oil stocks just got longer

There’s a growing list of institutional investors in Europe who are stripping oil and gas stocks out of their portfolios, in a move they say reduces the risk of ending up with stranded assets and financial losses. The latest to do so is PFA, Denmark’s largest commercial pension fund with roughly USD 110bn of assets under management. The investor has just offloaded its USD 170m stake in Shell Plc based on an assessment that the company’s capital expenditure on renewables...

June 28, 2024
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21Jun

UK. Could ESG factors for pension schemes be a hot topic following the General Election?

The General Election and ESG With the General Election looming, all of the main parties have now published their manifestos, setting out their key pledges and policy aims for the next parliamentary session. The election debates have already produced some heated discussion around areas such as immigration, defence, the NHS and tax levies. In past elections, political parties have made bold promises in relation to meeting net zero targets and tackling climate change – and this year is no different. It...

June 21, 2024
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19Jun

How Retirement Investments Align With Long-Term Environmental Goals

What do retirement plan sponsors and sustainable investors have in common? A focus on the long term. We explore how different asset classes, particularly real assets, can be aligned with long-term climate-related objectives, such as reducing carbon footprints to net zero. By extension, we suggest ways for retirement plan sponsors—whether in the defined benefit or defined contribution space—to align their investments with increasingly common sustainable climate goals. Key takeaways Climate-related risks and opportunities are present in virtually all asset classes, but...

June 19, 2024
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13Jun

US. House Republicans accuse ESG-focused pension funds, other investors of antitrust violations

Partisan differences were clear at a House hearing June 12, when Republicans accused CalPERS, Arjuna Capital and other institutional investors that consider environmental, social and governance factors of violating antitrust laws. The hearing followed the release of an interim report on June 11, in which Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee said pension funds, asset managers, proxy-advisory firms and environmental groups are coordinating a “climate cartel” to force companies to‘“decarbonize” and “reach net zero.” “The climate cartel is engaged in anti-competitive collusion...

June 13, 2024
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05Jun

Expert panel: How transition investments can help institutional investors reach net zero

Driven by the net-zero pledge towards green investments, institutional investors are finding themselves uncomfortably wedged between a rock and a hard place. If they invest exclusively in green assets and earn lower returns than the broader stock market benchmark, as was the case in 2023 for environmental, social and governance funds, they’re criticized for underperforming. But if they invest a small portion of the portfolio in brown firms, investors face recrimination for greenwashing. Also rubbing salt into the wound is the...

June 5, 2024
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05Jun

Australia’s Active Super found guilty of making misleading environmental claims

Australia's Federal Court has found superannuation fund Active Super guilty of making misleading claims concerning its environmental, social and governance (ESG) credentials, the country's securities regulator said on Wednesday. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) had sued Active Super last year, disputing the fund's claims that it no longer held investments in gambling, coal mining and oil tar sands, and that it had exited Russian investments. The court found that between February 2021 and June 2023, Active Super invested in...

June 5, 2024
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05Jun

EU. ESAs publish final greenwashing report calling for critical scrutiny

The European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) – the European Banking Authority (EBA), European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) and European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) – have called on financial institutions to deepen their critical scrutiny of sustainability related claims and improve product disclosures to combat greenwashing. Following two years of research, the trio today published their key findings and recommendations in tackling greenwashing. Key recommendations include an increase of human resources and expertise, along with increased use of tools for greater...

June 5, 2024
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May 2024
31May

Global top 300 pension funds. A Thinking Ahead Institute and Pensions & Investments joint study

By The Thinking Ahead Institute and Pensions & Investments The global top 300 pension funds is an annual study conducted by the Thinking Ahead Institute, in conjunction with Pensions and Investments. The research highlights high-level trends in the pension fund industry and provides information on how the characteristics of these top funds have changed. Get the report here

May 31, 2024
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