Reclaiming fiduciary duty balance between prudence, loyalty and impartiality is critical to sustaining pension promises, this article claims. It would encourage better alignment of pension service providers’ supply chain interests, adoption of fit-for-purpose pension fund governance practices, and implementation of precautionary risk management policies. (more…)
Executive director of the Asset Owners Disclosure Project and business director of the Climate Institute, Julian Poulter, aruges the progress of carbon legislation in Australia is a wake-up call to asset owners around the globe.
Australia’s lower house of Parliament passed a carbon tax yesterday. It prices carbon at $23 a ton. India’s carbon tax is 80 rupees (about $1) a ton. So what is the appropriate price of carbon? According to Robert Litterman in his Financial Analysts Journal editorial, it is a complex equation that should reflect fundamental uncertainty about catastrophic risks and a high level of societal risk aversion. (more…)
CalPERS’ absolute return strategies program is over-reliant on quantitative tools, inadequately staffed and may be overweight in certain strategies and risks, according to Wilshire’s annual review of the portfolio. (more…)
Institutional investors are using just a fraction of the “weapons” they have at their disposal when they engage with companies, and need to use the entire proxy proposal process better, Rob Bauer told attendees at a recent PRI conference. (more…)
New York State Comptroller, Thomas DiNapoli, has defended public defined benefit schemes, saying that they are not a drag on state government finances, are sustainable and form a vital part of the US economy. (more…)