Whilst asset owners’ approach to ESG has been slowly shaped by regulatory and best practice influences over time, we have now reached the point that inaction on the topic is no longer possible, according to Sarah Wilson, Minerva’s Chief Executive. At Minerva’s recent ESG Educational Event in London, Sarah addressed the topic of ‘ESGvolution’, looking […]
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UK funds braced for tougher regulatory stance on climate UK pension funds and listed companies are to be handed a new list of reporting requirements, following publication of the UK government’s Green Finance Strategy at the start of July. The new report outlined “ambitious actions” which include the requirement for better quality disclosures for occupational […]
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The House of Commons’ Work and Pensions and Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committees have launched a joint inquiry into the collapse of construction firm Carillion. The select committees said they would be investigating how a company that was signed off by KPMG as a going concern in Spring 2017 could crash into liquidation with a […]
Read MoreThe Association of Member Nominated Trustees (AMNT) officially launched its new AGM voting toolkit this month (08-Dec-15). The 34 policy ‘Red Lines‘ (19 Governance, 10 Social and 5 Environmental) are designed to help pension trustees hold investee companies – and the fund managers who manage their investments in them – better to account when it […]
Read MoreThe Swiss Federal Council recently published their “Proposal for an Ordinance against abusive remuneration practices” in response to the successful popular referendum on what has been dubbed the “Minder Initiative”. It is the first formal consultation stage ahead of the tabling of a formal legislative proposal, timetabled for November, in time for a January 1st 2014 implementation date. The […]
Read MoreThis month’s guest article is by Professor Jill Solomon, Department of Management, King’s College London There is global scientific consensus that climate change is progressing far more rapidly and with far greater severity than previously anticipated. Climate change is a critical issue for business, for financial institutions and not least for the pension fund industry. […]
Read MoreThe Investors Working Group, a bi-partisan panel of experts created in February 2009 by the Council of Institutional Investors and the CFA Institute Centre for Financial Market Integrity, has released its recommendations for reform and modernisation of the US financial markets. According to the report, strengthening existing regulatory agencies, closing gaps in the regulatory structure, […]
Read More“We believe that active ownership can help enhance long-term shareholder value and are therefore supportive of pension funds being more active.” That’s the message from a recent study published Watson Wyatt U.K., “No Action No Option,” which concludes that pension funds worldwide will come under increasing pressure to use their ownership rights to push for improved […]
Read MoreNine leading US pension funds have announced that they will be disclosing their voting intentions for shareholder meetings on a new web portal, ProxyDemocracy. AFSCME Employees Pension Plan, CalPERS, CalSTRS, Calvert Investments, Christian Brothers Investment Services, Domini Social Investments, the Florida State Board of Administration, Green Century and Trillium Asset Management are making their individual proxy […]
Read MoreFairPensions, the UK-based campaign for responsible investment has published its 3rd annual survey of pension funds and their ESG arrangements. The headline findings are that although major UK pension funds are now acknowledging the potential of ‘non-financial’ issues to affect the value of investments, many still lack key strategies to manage these risks. The report also raises […]
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