An academic says environmental, social and governance terminology should evolve alongside understanding of the concept, while a consultant favours a focus on substance over form. Amir Akbari, assistant professor of finance, McMaster University As our understanding of sustainable development evolves, so, too, should our characterization of responsible investment. For instance, consider the United Nation’s Kunming-Montreal Global […]
A growing wave of opposition to environmental, social and governance factors has turned life in the sustainable finance industry into something of a roller coaster over the last couple of years. But a little turbulence is to be expected, says Alyson Slater, managing director of sustainable investment at Manulife Investment Management, encouraging institutional investors to […]
With the introduction of new sustainability and climate disclosure guidelines — IFRS S1 and IFRS S2 — from the International Sustainability Standard Board in January, institutional investors now have the opportunity to gain alignment in measuring environmental, social and governance risks associated with their investment portfolios. Read: Research finds pensions struggle to determine metrics for ESG […]
The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario is implementing a framework with core principals to help defined benefit pension plans avoid inappropriate risk-modelling strategies, said James Hoffner, the organization’s chief pension risk officer, during a conference on Monday. “Pension plans aren’t banks, they’re not commercial enterprises that are going to go out of business. We’re not going […]
Information technology risk has become a more prevalent concern in recent years, so it comes as no surprise that Canadian pension regulators are focused on ensuring that plan administrators manage this risk effectively. IT risk is associated with an entity’s IT infrastructure as a whole, including risk caused by error or malfunction, as well as […]
The estimated cost to transfer retiree pension risk to an insurer in a competitive bidding process decreased from 101.8 per cent of a plan’s accounting liabilities in November to 100.5 per cent of those liabilities in December, according to Milliman Inc.’s latest pension buyout index. The index uses the FTSE above median AA curve and […]
An article on the funded position of Canadian defined benefit pension plans was the most-read story on BenefitsCanada.com. Here are the five top HR, benefit, pension and investment stories of the week: 1. Average DB pension plan’s funded position on solvency basis up in November: report 2. Decision raises questions about dependent contractors’ entitlement to reasonable notice […]
The impacts of climate change and federal super-priority legislation on Canadian pension plans are among the issues that the Canadian Institute of Actuaries is monitoring in 2024, says Simon Nelson, a principal at Eckler Ltd. and chair of the CIA’s pension practice committee. While climate change is a consideration across all of the CIA’s practice […]
On Dec. 6, the Canadian Investment Review hosted its annual Defined Benefit Investment Forum. With the close of a year marred by financial fragility and global discontent, leaders from Canada’s defined benefit pension plan sponsor community gathered to shed light on the challenging economic landscape of 2023 and make informed predictions about the hurdles and opportunities ahead. Here’s what […]
Pension plan sponsors must effectively employ care, diligence and skill when facing cybersecurity threats, said Sandeep Kakan, board trustee and secretary at the Canada-Wide Industrial Pension Plan, during a session at the Canadian Investment Review’s 2023 Defined Benefit Investment Forum in December. Cybersecurity concerns are rising in the aftermath of the MOVEit hack, which compromised […]