November 2021
03Nov

Pension funds commit $130 billion to fight climate change at the COP26 summit

Nordic and British pension funds on Tuesday committed to invest $130 billion by 2030 to fight climate change, and report annually on the progress of their green investments. Denmark said $75 billion of the funds were new commitments. The pledge, launched at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, included asset owners in Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Iceland, the Faroe Islands and the United Kingdom, plus a fund from Greenland. "Green transition requires massive investments. Governments have to do their part...

November 3, 2021
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October 2021
27Oct

Firms Are Shaking Up Benefits To Keep Workers From Quitting. The Retirement Plan Could Be Next.

As resignations soar and the war for talent heats up amid a tight labor market, companies are turning to any tool at their disposal—even the normally staid retirement plan—to attract and retain workers. KPMG, the global accounting and consulting firm, announced to employees on Monday the most significant overhaul to its benefits plan in more than 10 years. The firm said it will reduce the cost of health premiums to employees by 10%, expand its paid family leave and add...

October 27, 2021
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15Oct

Pensions and ESG: An Institutional and Historical Perspective

By P. Brett Hammond & Amy O'Brien Sustainable investing is growing into its moment. Funded pensions, which were among the first institutions to respond to sustainability concerns, are showing renewed interest in better ways to reflect responsible investing objectives, along with regulators, asset managers and shareholder groups. Looking back, the principal elements of sustainability—environmental, social and governance (ESG)—all have different origins and took different pathways. Looking across, sustainable investing developed differently depending on region and country. Viewing it today, we...

October 15, 2021
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07Oct

Sustainability agreements and antitrust – three criteria to distinguish beneficial cooperation from greenwashing

By Maurits Dolmans This paper discusses European competition law as it applies to agreements between market players to reduce, eliminate, or compensate for greenhouse gas emissions. It places these in an economic context, discusses the relevant provisions of the European treaties and applicable case law of the European Court of Justice. It identifies three broad criteria for the non-application of the prohibition of restrictive agreements, or exemption, to sustainability agreements. Source: SSRN 242 views

October 7, 2021
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September 2021
30Sep

Pension fund and other investors with $4 trln assets aim to tackle Asian firms on climate change goals

A group of six investors with a combined $4 trillion of assets under management, including Fidelity International, said on Wednesday it aims to step up engagement with big Asian companies like banks and energy producers to ensure they have a road map to meet climate change targets. Initial engagement will focus on carbon risk and coal at banks and coal-exposed power companies, the group of investors, facilitated by Singapore-based advisor Asia Research & Engagement (ARE), said in a statement. The move...

September 30, 2021
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21Sep

US. SEC Is Exploring Reforms Regarding Private Fund Disclosure Of Conflicts Of Interest And Fees and Expenses

On September 14, 2021, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler testified before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. During his testimony, he stated that the SEC is exploring “potential reforms” regarding investment funds and managers. Chair Gensler explained that one of the potential reforms under consideration by the SEC was ways to enhance disclosures by private fund managers regarding conflicts of interest and allocation of fees and expenses. He stated that he believed the...

September 21, 2021
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03Sep

Global Pensions and ESG: Is There A Better Way?

By Luba Nikulina The influence of ESG factors has been growing exponentially in the last five years. This paper explores whether purpose with multiple stakeholders, responsibility for the impact of investments, and system level engagement apply to global pension funds. Aside from government spending, global pension assets represent the largest pool of capital on the planet with the longest time horizon and multiple stakeholders across different generations. The power of influence of this capital is enormous. Many international challenges can...

September 3, 2021
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July 2021
23Jul

Importance of ‘social’ pillar in ESG increases for pension funds despite dearth of index strategies, survey finds

The ‘S’ pillar of environmental, social and governance (ESG) is becoming increasingly important for pension funds, however, a dearth of core-social related indices remain, according to a survey conducted by CREATE Research in partnership with DWS. The survey, which interviewed 142 pension plans, found 66% expect to increase their allocations to ‘S’ pillar passive funds over the next three years despite just 14% currently using core social-related indices. In the subsequent report, titled Passive Investing 2021: Rise of the social pillar...

July 23, 2021
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June 2021
02Jun

Nigeria. Still on corruption in pension scheme

The recent expose by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) on corruption in Cross River State, shocking as it were, is but one of the many plagues currently ravaging this country, which would explain why it barely elicited the deserved reaction from average Nigerians, as they have to deal with these situations on a daily basis. It is no longer a question of the magnitude of corrupt practices in the system, which is not in doubt, but one of who...

June 2, 2021
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May 2021
28May

UK pension asset owners join Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance

Three UK pension asset owners have signed up to the UN-convened Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance. As reported by our sister publication, European Pensions, Phoenix Group, Legal & General (L&G) and Rothesay all joined alongside Germany’s largest pension fund under public law, Bayerische Versorgungskammer (BVK), and Asia- and Africa-focused insurance group, Prudential plc. The five new signatories have added a combined USD 900bn AUM to the alliance, meaning it now consists of 42 assets owners managing a combined USD 6.6trn of assets. By...

May 28, 2021
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