More ESG news – Page 21
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NewsUSS invests in climate fund, Aegon’s ESG assets top £10bn
ESG Spotlight: A roundup of the latest news on environmental, social and governance initiatives, with the Universities Superannuation Scheme investing in a climate fund, Aegon strengthening its commitments to make default funds net-zero and banks calling for support of a new sustainable infrastructure label.
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NewsScot Wid revamps green fund, Fidelity tackles climate and diversity
ESG Spotlight: A roundup of the latest news on environmental, social and governance initiatives, with Scottish Widows investing in green UK business via its new environmental fund, and Fidelity's new policies on climate change and diversity.
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PodcastsPodcast: TCFD helps schemes to understand financial risks
Podcast: The Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures requirements are a great opportunity for pension funds to set a strategy which helps them understand the financial risks involved in climate change, says Will Martindale, group head of sustainability at Cardano. He is joined by Joanne Segars, chair of the board of directors of LGPS Central and chair of Now Pensions, to discuss how schemes can best implement the imminent new rules.
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NewsGreen bonds and greenwashing: Investors yet to be convinced
After new details about UK’s first sovereign green bonds were received positively by the pensions industry, the excitement seems to be dissipating, since the summer 2021 launch date will be missed and scepticism remains about the motives and effectiveness of the scheme.
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NewsPodcast: Too much jargon hampers sustainable investing drive
Podcast: Politicians and the pensions industry risk jeopardising the progress made on sustainable investing because they are too fond of jargon. Members are keen to get involved, but they have to understand what they are getting involved in. Georgia Stewart, chief executive of Tumelo, and Chris Hulatt, co-founder of Octopus Group, talk sustainability, inter-generational fairness and cryptocurrencies.
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NewsBrunel Pension Partnership launches multi-asset credit fund
On the go: The £30bn Brunel Pension Partnership has launched a multi-asset credit fund, split across three separate mandates.
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NewsRailpen targets net-zero, LGPS funds invest in renewable assets
ESG spotlight: AA roundup of the latest news on environmental, social and governance initiatives, with the Railways Pension Scheme pledging to reduce carbon emissions, Local Government Pension Scheme funds investing in a renewable strategy, and new signatories to the Green Pensions Charter.
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OpinionDon’t wait to be grey to be green
Charles Clarke, client communications lead at BNP Paribas Asset Management, details the challenges ahead for the pensions industry in its mission of switching the economy from stopping polluting to starting rebuilding.
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FeaturesIs China the elephant in the ESG room?
With demand for an environmental, social and governance focus in equity portfolios surging, institutional investors question whether China can deliver in the battle against climate change, with specialists pointing out the “huge potential” of engagement in these areas.
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NewsDB schemes’ ESG policies misaligned with trustees’ intentions
On the go: Only 40 per cent of defined benefit pension scheme trustees believe that their scheme’s environmental, social and governance policy reflects their preferred approach in this area, new research has revealed.
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NewsFour out of five investors to increase fixed income exposure
On the go: Eighty per cent of institutional investors intend to increase their fixed income exposure over the next three years, with one in six expecting this increase to be “significant”, according to a study by Aviva Investors.
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NewsFourteen pension schemes commit to net-zero targets
On the go: Fourteen pension schemes, which collectively manage nearly £270bn of assets, have committed to set net-zero targets to align their investment portfolios with a 1.5°C pathway.
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NewsGreener pensions are ‘most effective’ way to fight climate change
On the go: Making a pension “green” is more effective than going vegan, stopping flying, and switching to a renewable energy provider combined, according to new research.
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NewsEmployers eye better master trust options as market matures
On the go: Investment consultancy Willis Towers Watson is predicting a secondary defined contribution master trust market could emerge as one in eight early adopters of the pension solution have revealed they will look to review their providers.
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PodcastsPodcast: Tapping DC for Long-Term Assets Fund requires ‘rigorous’ scrutiny
Podcast: HM Treasury’s proposals to tap defined contribution schemes for its new Long-Term Assets Fund is not a bad idea, but problems with daily dealing remain, and it requires the kind of “rigorous” scrutiny applied to other new asset classes. PensionBee chief executive Romi Savova and Jonathan Parker, head of DC and financial wellbeing at Redington, discuss the LTAF, rumours of a tax raid, and the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association’s new Responsible Investment Quality Mark.
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NewsAre schemes ready for climate-related financial disclosures?
In August 2020, the Department for Work and Pensions launched a consultation on the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures, under which pension schemes with £5bn or more in assets, including authorised master trusts, would be required to have reporting metrics in place by this October and to publish climate risk disclosures by the end of 2022.
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NewsCovid-19 spurs wave of interest in sustainable investing
Almost two-thirds of European asset and investment managers believe that the pandemic has made sustainable investing more important, according to Schroders’ Institutional Investor Study 2021.
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NewsGovt plans green bonds issue, but should schemes take the plunge?
The UK government has an ambitious climate and environmental agenda and is set to issue its first green gilt in September 2021, with at least one more issue before the end of the year. Green gilts to the value of £15bn will be issued in the 2021-22 financial year.
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NewsBrunel pool to launch Paris-aligned passive fund
On the go: The Brunel Pension Partnership has licensed a Paris-aligned index, which it will adopt for a passively managed fund that it will launch in September 2021.
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NewsCost and information overload are barriers to integrating ESG
On the go: Information overload and high costs are barriers to integrating sustainability in investments, a Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association poll has found.