South Africa’s economy has been sluggish in recent years, but upcoming changes could provide hope for institutional investors considering opportunities in the country. Its economy has been in a low-to-modest growth mode, said Falilou Fall, senior economist at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, during the Canadian Investment Review’s podcast “Pension Passport.” He highlighted policy uncertainty as a reason investment […]
When considering environmental, social and governance issues, asset managers are less convinced that social factors drive returns, according to a survey by Netherlands-based NN Investment Partners. Among the European asset managers surveyed, just 15 per cent said social factors are something they can harness to generate returns. This compares to 40 per cent that said the same […]
Climate risk disclosure and gender diversity on corporate boards are key issues attracting majority support from institutional investors, according to a new survey by proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. Its latest global benchmark policy survey generated 400 respondents from institutional investors, corporate executive and others in Canada, the U.S., Europe and Asia. It found 61 […]
As environmental, social and governance issues are increasingly recognized as material factors when considering investments and amid growing stakeholder pressure, many options are available for pension plans looking to incorporate ESG into their portfolios. “Historically, you saw a lot more on the ethical investing end of things — so exclusions, negative screens,” said Eli Angen, […]
The market value of assets held by Canadian trusteed pension plans hit $1.97 trillion in the first quarter of 2019, an increase of five per cent from the last quarter of 2018, according to new data from Statistics Canada. Year over year, the market value of assets rose 3.6 per cent. The total includes assets […]
Indexes have been around for decades, but what does all of that accumulated data actually tell investors? The Russell 3000 index, which was created in 1984, captures approximately 98 per cent of U.S. traded equities. In order to fully replicate the U.S. market, an index would need to hold around 1000 more stocks, many of […]
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board is opening an office in San Francisco. The new location is the CPPIB’s second U.S. office, after New York City, and its ninth worldwide. “One of the pillars of our growth strategy is to place a focus on technology and data and to better understand its impact on our overall portfolio,” said Mark Machin, […]
The provincial government has appointed Brian Gibson as the new chair of the Investment Management Corp. of Ontario’s board of directors, effective immediately. Gibson is a director at Precision Drilling Corp. and Samuel, Sons & Company Ltd. He also serves on the advisory board of Kruger Inc. and is the chair of the CFA Institute’s corporate […]
Fiera Capital Corp. is appointing Michael Quigley as executive vice-president and head of institutional markets. In the new role, Quigley will lead the team, focusing on improving and guiding the implementation of Fiera’s institutional distribution strategy. “Michael brings a deep understanding of the institutional business environment and extensive knowledge of both traditional and alternative asset […]
Amid growing concern about the financial risks of climate change, a pair of Canadian law professors is launching an effort to help corporate directors and pension trustees better understand the issue. The academics — Dr. Janis Sarra from the University of British Columbia and professor Cynthia Williams from Osgoode Hall Law School at York University […]