ESG Newsletter

Aegon Asset Management is a subsidiary of Aegon, a Dutch insurer headquartered in The Hague. The firm had US$ 361 billion of assets under management as of December 31, 2017, of which $14.2 billion are managed under an Impact or Socially Responsible mandate.

Founded in 1975, Walden Asset Management is a division of Boston Trust & Investment Management Company which solely focuses on responsible and impact investing. Firm-wide assets under management were $7.9 billion as of year-end 2018.

Since its inception, Walden Asset Management has been integrating environmental, social and governance factors into investment decisions. The firm is a proponent of corporate responsibility and influences their portfolio companies through active engagements, and shareholder resolutions. In 2018, 77 out of 171 companies engaged implemented positive changes regarding Climate Change, Equality and Governance. Further, Walden Asset Management collaborates with their peers, NGOs and Stakeholders to improve ESG incorporation and advocate for effective public policy on pertinent ESG issues.

Annual Impact Report - 2018

Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure Response – 2019

Founded in 2001, the Fonds de Réserve pour les Retraités (FRR) is a French public administrative establishment responsible for investing assets entrusted by public authorities to finance the pension system. As of December 29, 2017, FRR had €36.4 billion of assets under management.

The Reserve Fund's responsible investing approach rests on four principles: incorporating ESG factors into asset management, managing social responsibility with regard to the UN Global Compact, exercising their voting rights, and contributing to research and supporting international initiatives such as the Carbon Disclosure Project and the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. As a public entity, the organization abides by the Ottawa and Oslo Conventions ratified by France, and excludes controversial weapon manufacturers. Further, to successfully manage carbon risk, FRR has been calculating the carbon intensity of their equity and bond portfolios since 2013.

Annual Report 2017

Responsible Investment Strategy 2013 - 2017

The Government Pension Fund of Norway, often referred to as the Norwegian oil fund, was founded in 1990. It is one of the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world with over US$ 980 billion of assets, as of December 2018. Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM) is responsible for the management of the fund. The firm seeks to safeguard the long-term financial interests of future generations by investing responsibly in equities, fixed income, and real estate.

NBIM's investing approach is based on three core pillars: setting standards of principles and expectations to help improve corporate governance, exercising their ownership rights, and monitoring and managing the ESG risks of their investments. The firm sets high expectations for portfolio companies on topics related to the UN SDGs such as children's rights, climate change, water management and others. Finally, the Sovereign Wealth Fund has a publicly available company exclusion list based on recommendations from the Council on Ethics appointed by the Ministry of Finance.

Responsible Investment Report 2018

Council on Ethics Annual Report 2017

Company Exclusion List

Pax World was founded in 1971 to enable investors to align their investments with their values. The investment management company was the first to launch a socially responsible mutual fund using social as well as financial criteria in the decision-making process. As of 2017, Pax World manages over US$ 4.7 billion.

Today, the firm is still committed to sustainable investing – ESG factors are fully integrated in the investment analysis and portfolio construction. Further, the management company excludes firms involved in weapons, tobacco, oil sands, and coal. Pax World seeks to impact company behaviour regarding climate change and gender diversity by filing shareholder proposals and engaging with portfolio companies. Finally, the investment company reports on their approach to climate change using the TCFD recommendations.

Impact Report - 2017

Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure Report

Spotlight on Engagement - Gender Diversity

Established in 1911, the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) is a state-owned asset management company that manages the funds of the Government Employees Pension Fund and the Unemployment Insurance Fund among others. With over USD 147 billion of assets under management as of March 2018, PIC is one the largest asset managers in Africa.

PIC's overall investment strategy seeks to align the portfolio to the UN Sustainable Development Goals through sound risk management and a focus on ESG issues. PIC's approach to ESG allows them to identify engagement topics to improve the corporate governance of their portfolio companies. The fund's investments in unlisted assets enable them to drive a more sustainable and inclusive society by investing in Energy, Healthcare, Affordable Housing, Student Accommodation and Education Support, and SMEs.

Public Investment Corporation Integrated Annual Report 2018

Corporate Governance and Proxy Voting

The Environment Agency Pension Fund (EAPF) is a defined benefit Local Government Pension Scheme with 39,500 beneficiaries and assets of £3.6 billion as of September 30th. EAPF has a strong focus on sustainable investing, accordingly they integrate ESG issues into all of their investment, engagement, and voting decisions.

As long term investors, EAPF recognizes Climate Change as a systemic and long-term material financial risk. To manage climate-related risks in their portfolio, the fund applies scenario analysis, carbon footprints 75% of their assets under management, and are compliant with the TCFD recommendations. Finally, EAPF works collaboratively with other investors through Climate Action 100+ and the Transition Pathway Initiative – a tool that ranks companies on their effectiveness to manage Climate risk, and reduce their carbon emissions – to engage with companies to mitigate and adapt to Climate Change.

Responsible Investment Report for 2017-2018

Climate Change Policy

Stewardship Code

The United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund is a defined-benefit fund established by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1948, entrusted to provide retirement and related benefits to more than 205,000 staff and retirees of the United Nations and 23 other member organisations. The Office of Investment Management (OIM) manages a US$63 billion multi-asset class, global investment portfolio, 85 per cent of which is actively managed in-house. The fund invests globally in more than 100 countries and 27 currencies, and in multiple asset classes: global equities, global fixed income, private equity, real estate, infrastructure, timber, and commodities.

OIM began the journey towards sustainable investing decades ago by restricting investments in tobacco and armaments, reflecting the values of the United Nations. The office became a signatory to the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) in 2006. This was followed in 2008 by investing in the first green bonds, issued by the World Bank, and being the catalyst investor in low carbon exchange-traded funds in 2014.

Read more...

2017 Annual Report

Founded in 2012, Mirova is an affiliate of Natixis Investment Management, one of the biggest asset management companies in Europe. Mirova's investment approach is defined by the Sustainable Development Goals framework, as it enables to capture the contribution of an asset to environmental and social sustainability. As of September 30th, 2018, Mirova had USD 11.8 billion of assets under management.

Mirova only invests in countries and firms that contribute to the SDGs. To assess a security's alignment, the organization conducts bottom-up research involving security-level analysis of risk and opportunities, a life-cycle analysis to identify where the impact occurs, and finally an issue-level analysis to understand how specific themes affect the securities. Mirova seeks alignment with the Paris Agreement targets by monitoring the carbon footprint of the equities and bonds they hold in their portfolios. Beyond their investment choices, their approach involves a voting policy aligned to their values, which are accompanied by engagement procedures with issuers and public authorities.

Acting as a Responsible Investor

Controversial Activities

Country Sustainability Analysis

Created under the Public Sector Pension Plans Act in 2000, the British Columbia Investment Management Corporation provides investment management services to Pension Plans, Government Bodies and other funds located in British Columbia. With CA$ 145.6 billion of assets under management as of March 31, 2018, BCI is one of the largest pension funds in Canada.

BCI believes that environmental, social and governance matters enables investors to better understand, manage and mitigate risks associated with long-term investments. Furthermore, to protect and grow the value of their client's funds, BCI has developed a Climate Action Plan to inform how it integrates climate considerations into their investment decisions, how it seeks new investment opportunities and engages with portfolio companies to increase their disclosure of climate-related risks they face. Finally, BCI was selected by the Bretton Woods II Initiative as one of the 25 most responsible asset allocators in the world for their commitment to investing responsibly.

Responsible Investing - Annual Report 2017

BCI's Climate Action Plan & Approach to the TCFD Recommendations