More comment – Page 16
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Opinion PiecesLetter from US: SEC looks towards mandatory ESG disclosure by companies
October will be an important month for investors and corporations as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will then propose new rules on climate change and other environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues.
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Opinion PiecesGuest Viewpoint: Amlan Roy - Changing mindsets on demography is vital
Recent news headlines have warned about the implications of current and projected population growth declines. This article provides perspective on impending demographic changes and their manifold implications
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Opinion PiecesViewpoint: Closing the emerging market climate finance gap
‘Extending loans to emerging markets will not be enough’
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Opinion PiecesViewpoint: Learning from the Nordics for impact investing
A meaningful allocation is important
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Opinion PiecesViewpoint: Time to start rebalancing portfolios
A whiff of ‘stagflation’ – meaning an economic slowdown accompanied by higher inflation – could soon be wafting into financial market
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Opinion PiecesGovernance must be the embedded solution
Europe now has approaching two decades of experience with the investment outsourcing that is loosely called fiduciary management, or sometimes outsourced CIO (OCIO), to use the US terminology.
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Opinion PiecesESG: progress but still much road to travel
Good things are happening in the land of ESG. Aspects of the European Commission’s sustainable finance action plan regulation have certainly been frustrating, but the sustainable finance disclosure regulation (SFDR), for example, does look like it could end up having a beneficial effect, even though there are still problems associated with it and the effect is perhaps not the one that was envisaged for the SFDR.
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Opinion PiecesNotes from Switzerland: Work in progress
History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce: now another referendum result in Switzerland is poised to obstruct changes designed for a long-term impact.
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Opinion PiecesSocial risks impact on employer covenant
The UK’s Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) recent consultation – Consideration of social risks and opportunities by occupational pension schemes – seeks to assess how trustees understand ‘social’ factors and how they aim to integrate financially material social factors into investment and stewardship activities.
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Opinion PiecesLetter from Australia: When the ‘kill switch’ misfires
The Australian government is attempting to push through Parliament legislation that would selectively benchmark the performance of superannuation funds – but has given up its intention to override investment decisions made by super funds.
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Opinion PiecesLetter from US: Hybrid plans in focus
The move from defined benefit (DB) pension plans to defined contribution (DC) has been ongoing for years in the US, both in the private and public sector. But more recently many state and local governments have adopted hybrid designs.
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Opinion PiecesGuest Viewpoint - Cyril Demaria: Three lessons on private market investing
Writing our book Asset Allocation and Private Markets has led its authors to revisit an old adage, venture on an unusual path, and confront an academic theory.
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Opinion PiecesViewpoint: Bursting the bubble
Do widespread narratives about speculative bubbles stand up to the evidence?
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Opinion PiecesViewpoint: Why companies and investors must leave ESG ratings behind
ESG ratings are an oversimplication, says Alexandra Mihailescu Cichon of ESG data science firm RepRisk
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Opinion PiecesLetter from Australia: Coalition mulls super hike
There are arguments both for and against a rise in compulsory superannuation contribution rate as Australia emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic .
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Opinion PiecesLetter from US: The rise of the new alternatives
Pension funds and other institutional investors used to invest in hedge funds aspiring to outperform public stock and bond benchmarks. Now, after years of disappointing performances, they have changed their attitude. They still invest in hedge funds, but the new expectation is simply to get a few percentage points above the return on zero risk investments.
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Opinion PiecesThe rising tide of corporate governance
In the last year, there has been a broad shift in corporate governance focus towards social issues, including human capital management – the ‘S’ of ESG.
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Opinion PiecesThe recovery does not eliminate systemic risk
The world’s economy is already recovering from the damage inflicted by the lockdown measures imposed to contain the spread of COVID-19 in 2020.
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Opinion PiecesEstablishing a sustainable path
Investors increasingly want to take a more environmentally, socially and governance-conscious approach to investing. Despite the growing choice of ESG strategies, the wide range of products and a lack of uniformity can make it difficult to compare the options.
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Opinion Pieces
Notes from the Nordics: GPFG brought into politics
The Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG) is a phenomenon – the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund owned by a population of just 5.3m, accounting for a sixth of all SWF assets and the owner of 1.5% of all listed equities.
