Senate working group targets corporate governance reform Four Democrat US senators have formed a working group with the aim of shifting corporate America away from shareholder capitalism. Elizabeth Warren (Massachusetts), Tom Carper (Delaware), Tammy Baldwin (Wisconsin) and Mark Warner (Virginia) want to develop legislative proposals and conduct oversight focused on reforming corporate governance. The group […]
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Minerva wins top industry award Minerva has scooped an award from the International Corporate Governance Network (ICGN) for excellence in corporate governance. Minerva won the Excellence in Corporate Governance Award for 2020 after being selected by an independent panel of judges. The results were announced at the virtual ICGN Global Stewardship Awards ceremony on 5 […]
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The UK government has issued a new set of sustainable finance standards for investment managers. The new voluntary UK standard, PAS 7341:2020, sets out the requirements to establish, implement and manage the process of integrating responsible and sustainable considerations into investment management. It has been laid out by the national standards body, the BSI, in […]
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Speed needed on financial impact of climate change disclosure Asset owners and their managers need to encourage more companies to disclose the financial impact of climate change on their businesses using an internationally recognised code, according to a new report. The Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), established by the Financial Stability Board, said […]
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Convergence of ESG and non-ESG funds beckons The overwhelming majority (99%) of European institutional investors expect a convergence between ESG and non-ESG products by 2022 – and 77% of them plan to stop purchasing non-ESG products in the same year. But while asset managers agree there will be a convergence, just 14% plan to stop […]
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ESG changes to Norway fund could lead to €910m sell off Changes to the ethical guidelines of Norway’s $1.15tn Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG) could lead to assets worth NOK 10bn (€910m) being sold off, with engagement being offered as a third way. Norges Bank, which manages the GPFG investment portfolio – the world’s largest […]
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Concern mounts over ESAs’ ESG product disclosures PensionsEurope has voiced concerns over the European Supervisory Authorities’ (ESAs) attempt to create templates for ESG products. The lobby group, which represents national associations of pension funds, said the product templates are too complicated for pension fund members and seem designed for classic investment products. The ESAs want […]
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Top asset owners favour engagement for net-zero carbon goals Some of the world’s biggest asset owners have rejected divestment to achieve climate goals and are instead favouring direct action and engagement. Members of the UN-backed Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance, including Aviva, Allianz and AXA, have said they will cut carbon in portfolio companies by up […]
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Government signals drive to boost ESG options for pension funds UK government pensions minister Guy Opperman has signalled plans to accelerate ESG action for pension funds ahead of the milestone COP26 conference in 2021. “The government will be making announcements on climate change considerations on the whole investment chain and you can expect more and […]
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EC corporate governance report draws criticism The European Commission report on directors’ duties and sustainable corporate governance, published earlier this year, is drawing heavy criticism from law experts. Writing on the Oxford Business Law blog, the European Company Law Experts Group said the study is “not a document on which to base sustainable proposals for […]
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