A new understanding of responsible investing preferences

Investors with a large proportion of educated female members have extra reason to take socially responsible investing seriously, but can possibly relax about poor returns. That is a fascinating finding of Rachel Pownall, an associate professor of Tilburg University, who has published groundbreaking work on the nuances of responsible investing. Pownall, together with Arian Borgers … Read more

Carbon credit market gets a boost

Norway and Britain have both announced plans to buy carbon credits, giving the United Nation’s struggling Clean Development Mechanism a boost.   Sovereign institutions have thrown a lifeline to the United Nation’s struggling Clean Development Mechanism, CDM, set up under the Kyoto Protocol which awards tradable carbon credits to projects like wind farms or solar … Read more

Contingent-COLAs the cornerstone of reform success

What can other states can adopt from the pension reforms at Rhode Island. The most significant item from the pension reform at Rhode Island is the fact the Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) is conditional. Or in other words, the fund will only pay the COLA if it can afford to do so. This simple … Read more

Danish PFA mutes Euro pessimism

Danish pension investor PFA is continuing a switch out of European government bonds in favor of global equities, but has begun reinvesting in Europe’s southern periphery. DKK-350-billion ($63-billion) PFA announced a $900 million purchase of equities in April, commenting at the time that the crisis in Cyprus had increased the risk to its European bond … Read more

UK local authority funds question “bigger is best”

UK local authority schemes are under pressure to merge. It’s their turn to suggest ways in which pooling investments, or adminstriation, could achieve the economies of scale necessary for survival, but many are resisting the notion that “bigger is better” when it comes to investments.   The United Kingdom’s local government pension schemes have begun … Read more