June 2020
10Jun

Denmark’s MP Pension divests 24 oil company holdings

Denmark's flag hangs outside a restaurant in Copenhagen. Danish pension fund MP Pensions plans to divest from 24 oil companies, following similar divestment last year from 10 energy giants. MP Pension, Gentofte, Denmark, has excluded a further 24 oil companies from its portfolio, divesting almost 900 million Danish kroner ($133.9 million) in assets. The 128.4 billion kroner pension fund excluded the oil companies following a 644 million kroner divestment from the 10 biggest oil companies in its portfolio last...

June 10, 2020
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09Jun

ESG investing and pensions: Taking reporting to the next level

It didn’t take a pandemic for interest in environmental, social, governance (ESG) investing to increase. From 2016 to 2018, sustainable investing already had grown by more than 38 percent, according to US SIF. But during the recent economic downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic, it did not pass unnoticed that funds that invested in companies based on their ESG ratings became “relative safe havens,” as S&P Global Market Intelligence put it, and BlackRock noted, “Overall, this period of market...

June 9, 2020
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02Jun

Pandemic Shines a New Light on Climate Change and ESG Investing

Scientists and environmentalists have reported a drop in daily carbon dioxide emissions as a result of the pandemic, and the connection between the pandemic and its effect on climate change has spurred plan sponsors and companies to support environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing, says Matt Seymour, chief executive officer at RiskFirst. “The pandemic is really going to emphasize the rationale and need for people to look at ESG investments in an integrated and fundamental way,” he notes. Read...

June 2, 2020
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01Jun

UK university pension fund to axe controversial investments

The UK university pension scheme is to end investments in tobacco, coal and controversial weapons manufacturers after bowing to pressure for policy changes from its membership of academics and higher education staff. The £75bn Universities Superannuation Scheme, the UK’s largest private pension fund by assets, will divest its holdings in tobacco companies and exclude future investments in thermal coal producers along with businesses with ties to cluster munitions, white phosphorus and landmines. Simon Pilcher, chief executive of USS Investment...

June 1, 2020
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May 2020
25May

U.K.’s Largest Pension Fund Urges Total to Clamp Down on CO2

The U.K.’s biggest pension fund said it will back a climate resolution asking for France’s Total SA to adopt a tougher stance on climate change at its annual shareholder meeting next week. The resolution was brought by 11 European asset managers last month, in another example of investors pressuring Big Oil to tackle environmental challenges. Since then, Total has set out bold commitments to eliminate most of its emissions by 2050, joining others such as Royal Dutch Shell Plc...

May 25, 2020
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21May

Large European companies fall short on ESG disclosure – report

Many of Europe's largest public companies are not adequately disclosing their environmental and climate-related risks, according to a report being released Tuesday by the Climate Disclosure Standards Board. The CDSB looked at Europe's 50 largest companies, with a combined market cap of $4.3 trillion, and found that in 2019, despite European Union reporting guidelines, 78% of them did not adequately report climate and environmental risks, and 42% omitted potentially material environmental or climate-related information for their sector. Also, 1...

May 21, 2020
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19May

ESG regulations and their impact on advice

There are regulatory changes afoot in the world of responsible investment, which are going to have a fundamental impact on the advice process. Since 2018, there have been over 170 ESG (environmental, social and governance) related regulatory measures proposed globally - that is more than the previous six years combined. In 2018, the European Union also published a recommendation to make ESG investing easier across Europe. This was through the European Commission making a formal request to the...

May 19, 2020
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06May

Ara Partners closes USD-400m industrial decarbonisation fund

Private equity firm Ara Partners has achieved a USD-400-million (EUR 369.5m) close for its debut fund, Ara Fund I LP, which was created to support the decarbonisation of the industrial economy through investments in North America and Europe. Capital commitments came from various institutional investors in North America, Europe and Asia, including public pensions, sovereign wealth funds, endowments, foundations and family offices. “We seek near-term, tangible carbon reductions and profitable growth through rapid adoption of sustainable industrial products and...

May 6, 2020
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06May

Ara Partners closes USD-400m industrial decarbonisation fund

Private equity firm Ara Partners has achieved a USD-400-million (EUR 369.5m) close for its debut fund, Ara Fund I LP, which was created to support the decarbonisation of the industrial economy through investments in North America and Europe. Capital commitments came from various institutional investors in North America, Europe and Asia, including public pensions, sovereign wealth funds, endowments, foundations and family offices. "We seek near-term, tangible carbon reductions and profitable growth through rapid adoption of sustainable industrial products and...

May 6, 2020
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April 2020
04Apr

Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index 2019 (MMGPI)

By Mercer, Monash University, MELBOURNE Ageing populations continue to be a significant issue for many economies as we are living longer and fertility rates continue to decline. Pension systems are becoming more important than ever as households want to maintain their living standards throughout retirement. But how is this possible, especially within the economic environment of low interest rates and reduced economic growth? There are implications for employers, employees, governments, as well as the pension funds....

April 4, 2020
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