All Features articles – Page 5
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FeaturesHow might DC investment reforms accelerate the push for net zero?
By Stephanie Baxter | November 8, 2022
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FeaturesDB schemes and LDI: ‘We’re through that firefighting phase’
Analysis: The dust has settled after a tumultuous month for defined benefit pension schemes.
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FeaturesPension fund focus on ESG opens questions over insurer back books
Billions of assets purchased by insurers to back UK retirement promises have the potential to drive corporate progress on issues such as climate change, and pension fund trustees are now indicating a willingness to pay extra for better stewardship.
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FeaturesHow should schemes factor in members’ ESG concerns?
A pension fund’s fiduciary responsibilities and members’ environmental, social and governance concerns can go hand in hand, but education and communication are the keys to achieving it.
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FeaturesIs any sovereign worth the greenium?
Issuance of green sovereign debt is rocketing and investors remain prepared to pay a greenium, but standard paper still has a role to play.
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FeaturesUN goals can act as guide for schemes making societal impact
The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals list 17 ambitions to improve the lives of people globally, spanning matters of poverty, equality, environmentalism and health. Much of the focus of the SDGs is on the developing world, yet lessons can be taken from the ambitions and used to improve the lives of people in the UK.
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FeaturesCould CDC solve the USS crisis?
Collective defined contribution has been touted as a possible long-term solution to the problems of the Universities Superannuation Scheme, but experts and unions are not convinced of its suitability.
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FeaturesOne in three schemes set climate risk reduction targets
ESG spotlight: A roundup of the latest news on environmental, social and governance initiatives, with an ACA survey finding that a third of pension schemes have already set targets to reduce climate risk, and asset management fees falling in some ESG and impact strategy types.
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FeaturesWhy the ‘S’ in ESG matters and how schemes can better understand it
The ‘social’ aspect of environmental, social and governance investments can be hard to quantify, but is crucial for pension schemes to get to grips with to meet their requirements in this area. Fortunately, there is help for investors to make the most of ‘S’ and spot long-term opportunities.
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FeaturesCOP26: Collaboration is key to achieve net-zero targets
In the build-up to COP26, there has been growing emphasis on the need for collaboration to ensure swifter progress in meeting global net-zero targets, with the pensions industry also being called to prioritise co-operation.
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FeaturesCOP26: Mobilising finance to immobilise climate change
COP26 will kick-off on October 31, a date surely circled on the calendar of pension scheme professionals across the country, as dominating this year’s conference will be a highly anticipated update on the progress of meeting global net-zero targets by 2050.
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FeaturesAre schemes ready to mitigate carbon through their investments?
COP26 guidelines dictate four main ways for the world to become net-zero by 2030 through the mitigation of carbon production. The challenge for pension funds is getting to grips with how these can be aligned with their investment process.
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FeaturesComplexities hamper social impact bonds’ true potential
Despite the launch of the UK’s sovereign green bond dominating the socially conscious fixed income discourse, there is still room for social impact bonds in schemes’ portfolios.
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FeaturesBetter data needed for schemes to tackle modern slavery
As pension schemes struggle with data on modern slavery in global chains, corporate engagement takes the lead in the battle to tackle social issues.
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FeaturesGuidance ‘stronger nudge’ could lead to poor member experience
The proposed rules requiring trustees and scheme managers to “nudge” individuals to obtain guidance when accessing their pension will cause administration mayhem and could lead to poor member experience, industry experts have warned.
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FeaturesIs China the elephant in the ESG room?
With demand for an environmental, social and governance focus in equity portfolios surging, institutional investors question whether China can deliver in the battle against climate change, with specialists pointing out the “huge potential” of engagement in these areas.
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NY divests and managers pledge, but are companies doing enough?
Data crunch: Thirty leading asset managers have pledged net-zero emissions by 2050 or sooner, on the heels of a landmark divestment announcement by the $226bn (£171bn) New York public pension. But a key datapoint suggests companies’ capital expenditure does not yet match managers’ sustainability rhetoric.
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FeaturesRaging torrent of DB equity outflows decelerates in 2020
Data crunch: Equity outflows from UK defined benefit schemes have gradually softened this year, which could be a sign that trustees are seeing greater value in equity investing longer term, writes Broadridge’s Hal La Thangue.