The $273 billion New York State Common has upped the pressure on portfolio companies to report on how artificial intelligence usage is contributing to layoffs, as AI governance becomes a growing focus in the proxy voting and engagement activities of asset owners.
Earlier this month the Australian fund, Rest, settled a case with one of its members, Mark McVeigh, who claimed the fund breached its duty by not properly considering the risks posed by climate change. Here, McVeigh's lawyers write exclusively for Top1000funds.com and explain the significance of the case for pension funds around the globe.
Assessing, managing and changing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) is set to become the data issue of the 2020s, as asset owners turn their attention to the power they have to advocate for change in the companies they invest in, and the firms that manage their money.
A new Global Pension Transparency Benchmark – the first formal collaboration between Top1000funds.com and CEM Benchmarking - will launch in February 2021 ranking countries, via their underlying pension funds, on four factors: governance and organization; performance; costs; and responsible investing.
The Canadian model, revered world over for its supreme pension management, is not low cost despite that being one of its oft-described traits. New research by CEM Benchmarking and McGill University shows that these funds are cost efficient, rather than being low cost. Their aim is to be high net performers, not low cost.
Responsible investors need to take into account how fund management and investment structures may be exacerbating wealth and income disparities, as well as systemic market risk. Raphaele Chappe and Delilah Rothenberg from the Predistribution Initiative have some suggestions for how PE could be adjusted in this regard and how building back better post-COVID-19 requires a more thoughtful model.
It is deeply concerning that the internet is beholden to only a few companies that control information, says Denise Hearn author of The Myth of Capitalism, who says that the dominance of large players in financial services is also a problem.
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