Environmental, social and governance considerations have gained traction in recent years with nearly 75 per cent of global asset managers saying they have an ESG policy and an equal percentage incorporating ESG considerations across their investment platforms, according to a new survey by investment consulting firm Callan. The inaugural study, which polled more than 1,200 […]
The value of the total assets under management for the world’s 500 largest asset managers reached US$113.7 trillion as of Dec. 31, 2022, down 13.7 per cent from the previous year, according to a new report by WTW’s Thinking Ahead Institute. In a press release, Jessica Gao, director of the Thinking Ahead Institute, said asset […]
In December 2021, Simon Fraser University announced the global equity portfolios for its non-pension related funds — valued at $450 million — would divest from fossil fuel producers. Four months later, the three members of its treasury team, which is led by Jacky Shen, treasurer and director of investment at the university, announced it had […]
When investing in external asset managers, pension funds are really investing in teams of people, according to Brandon Gill New, director and head of multi-strategy investing and digital assets at the OPSEU Pension Trust, speaking during the Canadian Investment Review‘s 2023 Global Investment Conference. “It’s not like buying a stock or a bond,” she said, […]
When Tye McAllister was in middle school, he received a life-changing gift from his father — The Wealthy Barber, a practical guide to financial planning by Canadian investor David Chilton. “Investing became a passion,” says McAllister, senior analyst of pension investments and treasury at ATCO Group of Companies. “I was always trying to pull together […]
Three-quarters (75 per cent) of institutional investors say their alternative asset managers are either meeting or exceeding performance expectations in 2022 despite operating in a challenging and volatile market period, according to a survey by EY. The survey, which polled 114 hedge fund managers, 112 private equity firms and 61 institutional investors, found 50 per […]
Reports that a leading asset manager is delaying the launch of a Chinese bond fund indefinitely are a clear sign that the facade around Chinese stocks’ and bonds’ environmental, social and governance record may be lifting. In recent years, rising investment in Chinese stocks and bonds coincided with a boom in ESG investing. Of course, […]
Banks must provide institutional investors with more information on climate strategies, according to the head of an organization of European pension funds and asset managers seeking to curb carbon emissions. “For investors considering their own net-zero alignment and stewardship of portfolio companies, it is critical that they have sufficient information on companies’ transition planning, including […]
As mask mandates lift and life gets back to normal, defined benefit plan sponsors and institutional asset managers are looking forward to re-engaging with each other in person. During the first year of the coronavirus pandemic, institutional asset managers and defined benefit plan sponsors — like everyone else — stayed connected virtually, but the vast […]
In recent years, Canada’s largest pension plans have dramatically increased their allocations to private assets — and smaller plans’ sponsors are taking note. “Investors are confronting capital market expectations for the next 10 or 20 years that look somewhat more modest than what we’ve recently experienced. Many are beginning to pursue larger allocations to private […]