“Climate change is a weapon of mass destruction,” said Sandra Carlisle, head of responsible investment at HSBC Global Asset Management, at a panel hosted by the Responsible Investment Association on Thursday. It’s critical that investors, who are thinking about how the impacts of climate change present a genuine risk, broaden their perspective to include the multifaceted […]
While the role of data in equities management is important, human expertise is still key, according to speakers at the CFA Society Toronto’s 2019 equities symposium on Jan. 22. “If you want to beat the market as an active manager you have to believe you know something that the market hasn’t incorporated into prices,” said […]
The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and the government of Quebec are adding to their previous investment in electric vehicle charging company AddEnergie Technologies Inc. The Quebec-based company manufactures charging stations and develops network management software for other organizations. The Caisse and the provincial government initially invested in the business in 2016 to help it expand across Canada. […]
The Public Sector Pension Investment Board is taking on a majority stake in B.F.B. Pty Ltd., an Australia-based agricultural business. Currently, BFB has taken on more than 441 square kilometres of arable land and operates businesses in grain storage, fertilizer, agronomy, livestock, farming and logistics. “We’re impressed with BFB’s team, performance and integrated business model, and we’re excited to […]
With concerns the business cycle is about to turn, more than half of institutional investors are reporting the intention to reduce their allocations to equities, according to a new BlackRock survey. Fifty-one per cent of BlackRock institutional clients surveyed stated they plan to decrease their allocations to public equity markets this year, up from 35 per cent in […]
The solvency positions of Canadian defined benefit pension plans declined in the fourth quarter of 2018 after experiencing gains in the first nine months of the year, according to Mercer’s latest pension health index. The median solvency ratio dropped to 95 per cent at the end of 2018 from 102 per cent at the end of […]
The largest corporate pension plans in the United States experienced a slight drop in their funded status at the end of 2018 due to the sharp decline in equities, according to an analysis by Willis Towers Watson. The study, which looked at the defined benefit pension plans of 389 Fortune 1000 companies, found their pension assets […]
The drama in recent weeks surrounding the outcome of Brexit has proved Shakespearian, but on this side of the pond, should institutional investors be bracing themselves? “We’ve been thinking about this ever since the referendum and we keep updating our probabilities in different ways,” says Peter Westaway, chief European economist at the Vanguard Group. “I think we’ve boiled […]
For pension plan sponsors interested in equities, the top two issues on the radar for 2019 are China-U.S. trade tensions and interest rate movements, says Scott Berg, vice-president and portfolio manager at T. Rowe Price Group Inc. China On China, it’s likely presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping will reach a trade accommodation, he says. […]
The vast majority (91 per cent) of Canadian institutional investors have adjusted their voting and engagement policies to focus more on environmental, social and governance risks, according to a report by marketing agency Edelman. The report, which surveyed 500 Canadian institutional investors, found 65 per cent have made policy adjustments within the past year. As well, […]