Pension Pulse

To all my readers, I am taking a couple of weeks off and will return on January 4th. I wish everyone a Happy & Healthy Holiday Season, please stay safe. Those of you you want to track the latest news on Canada's large pensions, you can do so via the links below: AIMCo latest news here BCI latest news here CAAT Pension latest news here CDPQ latest news here CPP Investments latest news here HOOPP latest news here IMCO latest news here Ontario Teachers' latest news here OPTrust latest news here OMERS latest news here Vestcor latest news here I think I got them all, at least the public ones. You can also track general pension news on Google here .  Some of the big stories that hit the news wire last week: Canadian pension fund Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) said on Friday it would invest $1 billion in Invenergy Renewables LLC, the largest private developer, owner and operator of wind and solar projects in North America. Read the article here and press re...

Yun Li and Pippa Stevens of CNBC report the Dow falls more than 100 points as lawmakers struggle to seal last-minute stimulus deal: Stocks slipped from record highs in volatile trading on Friday as lawmakers struggled to bridge differences on additional coronavirus stimulus measures. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell about 124.32 points, or 0.4%, to 30,179.05. At its session low, the 30-stock benchmark shed more than 270 points. The S&P 500 dipped 0.4%, or 13.07 points, to 3,709.41, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.1%, or 9.11 points, to 12,755.64. All three indexes touched new intraday highs earlier in the day after closing at records in the previous session. Leaders on Capitol Hill said they are close to an agreement that would provide $900 billion in additional aid. The talks, which have stretched on for months, are up against the wire, with federal funding lapsing at 12:01 a.m. ET on Saturday. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Friday that th...

Anne Simpson, managing investment director for Board Governance & Sustainability at CalPERS, sent me a press release showing half the focus companies of Climate Action 100+ have now established commitments to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 or sooner, but gaps remain: Almost half the focus companies of Climate Action 100+ – the world’s largest ever investor engagement  initiative  on climate change – have now established commitments to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 or sooner,  its  latest progress report reveals.     The  Climate Action 100+ 2020 Progress Report  also outlines the significant growth and evolution of Climate Action 100+. There are now 54 5  investor signatories, responsible for over USD52 trillion in assets under management and engaging with 167 companies through the initiative. But despite the  significant  growth in signatories and net-zero commitments, the  r eport  details ongoing gaps in ta...

Tsvetana Paraskova of Oilprice.com reports that a $226 billion US pension fund is considering dumping oil & gas investments: The $226-billion New York State Common Retirement Fund is undertaking a review of all energy companies it is invested in, to assess their readiness for the energy transition and dump those considered riskiest in climate-related investment. As it pledged on Wednesday to transition its portfolio of holdings to one with net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040, the pension fund—the third-largest in the U.S. after CalPERS and CalSTRS of California—said that it would complete by 2025 a review of all its holdings in energy companies to assess “their future ability to provide investment returns in light of the global consensus on climate change,” New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said. “Those that fail to meet our minimum standards may be removed from our portfolio. Divestment is a last resort, but it is an investment tool we can apply to com...