A decision by the Canadian Securities Administrators to step back from the development of a mandatory climate-related disclosure mandate could impact decision-making at one of the largest pension funds in Canada. Jennifer Coulson, senior managing director and global head of environmental, social and governance at the British Columbia Investment Management Corp., says the regulator’s decision […]
The Ontario Pension Board scored at or above the median for the Principles for Responsible Investment Reporting Framework assessment tool, according to its latest sustainability report. The OPB earned its highest score (87 per cent) for its policy governance and strategy, followed by passive listed equity and active listed equity, both at 81 per cent. […]
The Canadian Sustainability Standards Board is appointing Wendy Berman as chair, effective May 5. Berman is a former vice-chair of the Ontario Securities Commission and, most recently, she was a partner and head of the national securities litigation group at McCarthy Tétrault LLP. She succeeds Bruce Marchand, who served as interim chair at the CSSB. […]
Canada’s largest bank said Tuesday that it has scrapped one of its flagship climate commitments and is holding back on publicizing other climate progress in part because of new rules around greenwashing. In its latest sustainability report, the Royal Bank of Canada said that it has dropped its target of facilitation $500 billion in sustainable […]
The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec is reporting nearly 80 per cent, or $330 billion, of its total portfolio is invested in assets with a low-carbon footprint. In its latest sustainable investing report, the Caisse said it holds $6.2 billion worth of transition assets looking to decarbonize their operations. The investment organization exceeded […]
An article on how incoming health-care legislation could impact plan sponsors’ virtual care offerings was the most-read story on BenefitsCanada.com this past week. Here are the top five human resources, benefits, pension and investment stories of the last week: 1. How national health-care legislation could impact benefits plan sponsors’ virtual care offerings 2. Labatt attracting, […]
Private equity allocations are increasing to 12 per cent in the asset mix of U.S.-based institutional investors while public equities reached 38 per cent in 2024, according to a new report by Crisil Coalition Greenwich. In 2024, fixed income (29 per cent) and U.S. equities (19 per cent) were the leading assets among U.S. defined […]
Increased investment volatility could trigger additional questions on the decisions of Canadian pension funds as governance reviews come into focus, says Level Chan, a partner in the pensions practice at Stewart McKelvey. “Where there’s greater volatility, we could expect that triggering more questions about how pension plans are weathering the storm.” When responding to additional […]
Two-thirds (66 per cent) of global institutional investors say they plan to increase their private asset allocations over the next five years, according to a new survey by investment manager Nuveen. The survey, which polled more than 800 global institutional investors representing US$19 trillion in assets under management, found more than 90 per cent now […]
While community bonds, an investment asset offered by not-for-profits looking to raise capital for socially conscious projects, are growing in Canada, they don’t match the investment needs of institutional investors, says Rod Lohin, executive director at the Lee-Chin Institute for Corporate Citizenship at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management. “[Community bonds are] just […]