Sustainability

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Sustainability to create
new drivers of return

Sustainability is constructing a portfolio today on the earnings of the future, according to global head of investment content for Towers Watson, Roger Urwin. Not all performance is born equal, he says, and sustainability is performance with purpose. A cap-weighted portfolio is made up of an earnings stream based on today’s conditions, Urwin explains, with

Methodist morality delivers mainstream returns

When John Wesley, the 18th century Anglican cleric, preached that business practices should not harm one’s neighbour, he never imagined that his principles would guide the global investment strategy of an $18.4-billion pension fund. Today, the General Board of Pension and Health Benefits of the United Methodist Church, based in Chicago, ranks as one of

Taking RI from in-house to front of mind

The industry needs to be better at thinking how responsible investing can be accessed by smaller funds or those lacking sufficient internal resources, David Russell, co-head of responsible investment at the UK’s Universities Superannuation Scheme, says. Russell, who will join a panel at the Fiduciary Investors Symposium in Santa Monica produced by Conexus Financial, publisher

Mercer integrates ESG

Mercer will integrate its proprietary environmental, social and governance (ESG) ratings across all of its manager-search and performance data, cementing ESG as a key investment consideration. The consultant rates more than 20,000 strategies, oversees more than $5 trillion of assets under advice and has $60 billion in its multi-manager products. Mercer has led the consulting

Mercer lists priorities for Norway’s GPFG

A report finding Norway’s $582.7-billion sovereign wealth fund could face significant losses in a range of climate-change scenarios is unlikely to result in changes to the fund’s investment strategy, Norway’s state secretary Hilde Singsaas says. Norway’s Ministry of Finance released the report into the Government Pension Fund Global’s (GPFG) that it commissioned from Mercer and

ESG and alpha

Academics collide on the relationship between environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG), and alpha. One view is there is a clear link that can be uncovered by a deep dive into the underlying factors using a sophisticated operating engine. The other perspective is that the market will price in environmental and social factors, the way