The blockage of the Strait of Hormuz has left the world facing another energy crisis and warning bells of a global recession are growing increasingly shrill. Ostensibly, the crisis could also push the energy transition back as governments and companies scramble to shoulder the cost of $100 per barrel of oil and prepare for higher
Resources in the investment value chain have to shift away from financial modelling and trading towards stewardship and engagement according to Luba Nikulina, global head of manager research at Willis Towers Watson, speaking at the 8th Sustainable Finance Forum run by Oxford University.
Engagement and stewardship in private equity has been left out in the cold. This is strange for an asset class with high returns and where the foundation is already in place for the asset manager to act on behalf of the asset owner for strong engagement. Bob Eccles encourages more action.
Pension funds have “no business” engaging with policy makers but instead should influence change through stewardship, which is also the main function of asset managers, according to John Kay, Supernumerary Fellow in Economics at St Johns College, Oxford University.
Should investors collectively prioritise engagement issues, and if so what is at the top of the list? This was one of the topics delegates discussed at the 8th Sustainable Finance Forum run by the Oxford University Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment together with The Rothschild Foundation and the KR Foundation.
Last month Ceres convened the largest group of businesses calling for climate legislation in at least a decade. Their message was loud and clear: Congress must put forward policy responses equal to the severity of the climate crisis including a national price on carbon.
The A$50 billion superannuation fund for health care professionals, HESTA, has embarked on a journey of aligning its assets with the SDGs. Measuring its current investments against chosen sustainable development goals revealed a need for standardised measurement tools.
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