September 2019

Giant Norway pension fund weighs Brazil divestment over Amazon deforestation

KLP, Norway’s largest pension fund, with over US$80 billion in assets, is saying it may divest from transnational commodities traders operating in Brazil such as Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), Bunge and Cargill, if they work with producers who contribute to deforestation. KLP has $50 million in shares and loans with the firms. KLP is also reaching out to other investors to lobby them to use their financial influence to curb Amazon deforestation via supply chains. On August 28, Nordea,...

How the Mexican pensions sector plans to tackle a national demographic shift

As demographic shifts and technological innovations disrupt the Mexican pensions sector, industry leaders are seizing the opportunity to create a more sustainable and profitable future Linking the US with Central America, the expansive country of Mexico is the world’s 15th-largest economy and the second biggest in Latin America. Despite ongoing uncertainty surrounding the North American Free Trade Agreement, the Mexican economy has shown remarkable resilience of late, with the IMF expecting the nation to post a steady growth rate...

Japan pension funds boost alternative assets in yield hunt, Mizuho says

Japanese pension funds are showing a growing appetite for investing in real estate and corporate debt as they seek higher returns in alternative assets amid ultra-low yields, the head of Mizuho Financial Group’s trust banking arm said. But the famously conservative investors probably won’t want a bite of SoftBank Group Corp’s new Vision Fund, Tetsuo Iimori, the chief executive of Mizuho Trust and Banking, told Reuters. Years of ultra-low interest rates have forced the hand of Japan’s mammoth pensions...

July 2019

Must an Occupational Pension Scheme Take Into Account ESG Factors Even If There Is a Risk of Financial Detriment to the Pension Fund?

By Philip Bennett This paper outlines the legal rules that regulate the investment of the assets of an English law occupational pension scheme set up under trust where the investment powers over those assets are held by the scheme trustee. Those rules derive from a combination of EU Directives (in particular, Article 18 of Directive 2003/41/EC (the “IORP I Directive”) replaced by Article 19 of Directive 2016/2341 (the “IORP II Directive”)), UK legislation transposing those Directives and adding further...

June 2019

Climate Impact Pledge: Tackling the climate emergency

By Meryam Omi Public concern about the danger posed by climate change has reached unprecedented levels. More than a million students have walked out of classes worldwide, while protests have been held across dozens of countries, to call for swift action from governments1. This is no fad. The world is truly in the midst of a climate emergency, which could have drastic consequences for markets, companies and, therefore, our clients’ assets. With the UN warning that there is little over...

Impacto del gobierno corporativo en la rentabilidad de los bancos del Perú

Por Rene Cornejo, José Dávila, Peggy Benavente, Diony Carbajal, Carolina Eche La crisis financiera del 2007 puede verse como un colapso del gobierno corporativo (GC), lo que sugiere que los directores no comprendieron de manera adecuada los riesgos financieros. Pero las fallas del GC no solo se relacionaron con la crisis. Desde hacía algunos años habían ocurrido escándalos corporativos que mostraron debilidades de gobernabilidad debidas a mecanismos de control inadecuados e ineficaces, a la inadecuada función de supervisión de los...

February 2019

Sustainable, Responsible, Impact Investing Made Easy 2019: a Practical Guide for the socially conscious investor

Por Bill HollidaySocially Responsible Investments provide you with the chance to vote with your investments and influence our world. Sustainable, Responsible, Impact Investing (SRI) is a rapidly growing area of investment. It is outpacing the overall rate of general investment growth.SRI allows investors the ability to have investments in line with their values. It provides another tool to address important issues. SRI provides a way to support organizations and issues while earning a competitive return. As an example, if someone...