The first issue of Benefits Canada hit the desks of the country’s human resources, benefits, pension and investment professionals in 1977, four years before I was born. That same year, Canada’s inflation rate was eight per cent, very close to July 2022’s annualized inflation rate of 7.6 per cent. A lot has changed in 45 […]
The majority (89 per cent) of global institutional investors are implementing sustainable investing, compared to 76 per cent in 2021, according to a new survey by FTSE Russell. The survey, which polled nearly 200 asset owners with between US$1.1 trillion and US$3 trillion, found 44 per cent said they’re currently considering how to incorporate climate […]
Global institutional investors are overlooking climate-related opportunities in Africa, according to a new report by independent non-profit research group the Climate Policy Initiative. “The private sector needs to step up,” wrote the authors of the report. “It contributed only 14 per cent (US$4.2 billion) of total climate finance in Africa, much lower than in other […]
In 2022, normal was supposed to make a comeback — it didn’t. Just as supply chains began to stabilize, war broke out in Europe, China invaded Taiwan’s waters, inflation skyrocketed and central banks began hiking interest rates. While investments in renewable energy infrastructure reached new highs, economies that had been moving away from fossil fuels […]
The climate crisis puts the security of workers’ retirements at stake, said Patrick DeRochie, senior manager at Shift Action for Pension Wealth and Planet Health, during a session at the Canadian Investment Review‘s 2022 Risk Management Conference. Pension plan sponsors’ investment decisions and their ability to achieve adequate returns for their members depends on a […]
With close to two-thirds (62 per cent) of the market committed to investing responsibly, environmental, social and governance investing is no longer a fringe activity, said Sean Cleary, chair of the Institute for Sustainable Finance at Queen University’s Smith School of Business, during the Canadian Investment Review’s 2022 Risk Management Conference. A combination of factors […]
Responsible investing covers a spectrum between simple exclusion practices to environmental, social and governance integration to thematic and impact investing, said Les Marton, managing director of bfinance Canada Inc., while moderating a panel discussion at the Canadian Investment Review‘s 2022 Risk Management Conference. The two panellists — Karen Lockridge, director of ESG investing at the […]
In response to the growing role of environmental, social and governance factors in the Ontario Municipal Employees’ Retirement System’s investing strategy, its private equity arm, OMERS Private Equity, is appointing Helen Rattee as its first managing director of ESG and portfolio thematics. In the role, she’ll manage the organization’s ESG program in a manner that mitigates […]
The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan is allocating $5 billion to businesses with high-carbon emissions, according to its annual responsible investing and climate strategy report. “Recognizing the urgency of the climate crisis, we have committed to actively investing in select emissions intensive assets with the express goal of helping them decarbonize faster,” wrote Zlad Hindo, chief […]
An analysis of submissions made to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission reveals a sharp divide between the opinions of institutional investors and corporate executives when it comes to a proposal to standardize corporate climate disclosures. “Comments from different parties did not always fall along corporates versus investors, though some did,” wrote Subodh Mishra, global […]