The U.S. Department of Labor is proposing new rules that would give pension plan fiduciaries the ability to make investment decisions based on environmental, social and governance factors. If adopted, the rules would amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. In its summary of the proposed changes, the Department of Labor said they’d […]
While 72 per cent of institutional investors are currently integrating environmental, social and governance factors into their investment strategies, 29 per cent are placing greater emphasis on ESG considerations as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new survey by RBC Global Asset Management. The survey, which polled 800 global institutional investors, found […]
When the coronavirus pandemic shook up the investment landscape last spring, Canadian pension funds were also jostled by the shock wave, with the Alberta Investment Management Corp. and the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System among the hardest hit. And while the pandemic was an unprecedented event, such losses have raised the issue of whether Canadian pension […]
Early in Shannan Corey’s pension career, many of the boards she worked with were dominated by men over the age of 50. Corey, now executive director of the Saskatchewan Pension Plan, recalls one particular board meeting she attended when her company’s actuary, also male, wasn’t able to attend. “I was in my 30s and still […]
The result of the federal election could have a direct impact on working parents. The Liberal Party made a national $10 a day childcare system a key part of its budget in the spring. However, the Conservative Party, if elected, is promising to immediately scrap these plans. In its election platform, the Conservatives set out a plan […]
Michel Charron has had a front-row seat for the revolution in the Canadian investment industry’s approach to environmental, social and governance issues. Following the foundation of the United Nation’s principles for responsible investment in 2008, his firm, PBI Actuarial Consultants Inc., immediately signed up. But the concept required explanation for some pension plan sponsors, he […]
Institutional investors that are signed onto the United Nations’ principles for responsible investment had a higher five-year average net return compared to non-signatories, according to a report by CEM Benchmarking Inc. The benchmarking consultancy, which studied the net returns of 42 signatories participating in its database for five consecutive years ending in 2018, found that […]
Institutional investors have a role to play in reconciling Canada with Indigenous people, says a new report by the Reconciliation and Responsible Investment Initiative. “With the Truth and Reconciliation Commission [of Canada] report, it’s clear that we can all play our parts. It’s on all of us,” says Katherine Wheatley, manager of the RRII. “The […]
The British Columbia Investment Management Corp. returned 16.5 per cent for its combined pension plan clients and increased its assets under management from $171.3 billion to 199.6 billion in the year ended March 31, 2021. In its annual report, the investment manager said the $28.3 billion increase of assets under management reflected investment gains of […]
In case you missed it, a recent legal opinion by pension lawyer Randy Bauslaugh suggested plan sponsors might be personally liable for failing to consider risks posed by climate change in the institutional investment decision-making process. Bauslaugh’s paper connected the dots between the current evidence on the materiality and urgency of the financial implications of climate change and the recent reflection of this […]