Institutional investors have played down the impact that President Trump's executive order to limit the power of proxy advisors will have on their investment processes, with pension funds suggesting proxy inputs only form a part of their voting decisions. However, the development feeds into an ongoing crimping of investor power.
Most asset owners have to manage several time frames to be long-term investors but most risk-management tools address only one investment period. A new paper by Focusing Capital on the Long Term attempts to solve this problem by providing a new set of tools.
More than 70 pension funds from The Netherlands have joined forces with the Dutch Government and trade unions for the Responsible Business Conduct Agreement – a pledge to work together to prevent their investment practices from harming society or the environment.
Academics Gordon Clark and Ashby Monk have created 11 metrics that focus on meaningful and useful predictors of long-term performance. It’s a boon for investors struggling with the problem of appropriate measures for investing for the long term, a horizon where traditional benchmarks don’t always fit.
The much-awaited final report for the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry made seven recommendations relating to superannuation.
The UK’s Competition and Market Authority has put forward several changes to the investment consultant and fiduciary manager markets designed to ensure competition improves outcomes for pension schemes and other institutional investors. A competitive tender process would be required, as would clear distinctions between advice and marketing.
The Cost Transparency Initiative has entered its pilot phase, in which five of its templates will be tested in coming weeks. Data from the testing will be used to rationalise templates across the industry. The idea is to provide consistency of clarity of fees and costs, so trustees can compare funds easily.
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