Responsible Investor

UK trades unions and NGOs unite for pension fund e-mail campaign over BP/Shell tar sands

Website lists pension funds and managers with shares in oil giants.

Shell freezes exec salaries and includes sustainability performance after shareholder pressure

Oil giant cites ‘open and constructive’ shareholder dialogue

Innovest founder Kiernan launches new sustainability fund manager

Inflection Point Capital Management informally unveiled in Davos.

UK investor Stewardship Code consultation kicks off, backs long-term mandate review

Financial Reporting Council sounds out investors on long-term performance for ‘market stability’

Dutch corporate funds progress on ESG but fall short of parents’ CSR policies: report

Benchmark compares company funds with industry-wide and public schemes.

Norway’s €1.9bn Nestlé stake under scrutiny

CalPERS’ $3.8bn governance program “underperforming”

Norwegian investors publish ESG company survey results, plan expansion

Proposal to extend initiative into Sweden in 2009.

Swedish govt funds hail engagement success over ‘inhumane’ UK immigration centre

Sodexo agrees on company-wide human rights policy.

ESG improvements, but ‘striking’ disparity between best and worst UK managers: FairPensions

Environmental and social take up lags major governance improvements.

SRI in the Rockies: US investor concerns on fiduciary duty

SRI investors say Department of Labour letters could toughen ability to include ESG criteria.

Exclusions, engagements and tax evasions top Norwegian Govt fund review

Ministry of Finance formally launches consultation and outlines debate for future responsible investment strategy.

Half of UK’s biggest pension funds have no ESG policy

UK lobby group FairPensions says lack of voting disclosure could prompt government action.

European funds join US shareholder proxy battle

Letters sent to SEC challenging regulator’s plans on independent board nominees.

RI global news round up

The RI news you may have missed this week.

$100bn investor coalition fights SEC on shareholder resolutions

Group aims to galvanise 500 institutional investors and thousands of retail investors and flood the SEC with e-mails

NYCERS in hunt for responsible asset managers

New York scheme broadens its activist investment approach

KPA liquidates tyre and mining stocks over alleged abuses.

Tyre manufacturer Bridgestone and mining group Freeport-McMoRan sold in protest.

Hermes fund chief Anson quits

Former CalPERS CIO returns to the US after 18 months at UK activist manager

Hermes probes BAE and EADS on cluster bombs

UK pension clients examine reputation risks

Investor collaboration on the rise - UN PRI

Clearinghouse has helped investors join forces to engage with Walmart and car manufacturers

Could the wisdom of crowds help investor and regulator madness on governance and ownership?

An anonymous survey of investor concerns might be the basis for neutral dialogue to prevent future systemic crises.

What hope for better investor ‘stewardship’ in Asia?

Why the ability of management to articulate their approach to governance and the environment is very revealing.

ERAFP chief talks about the growth of France’s €6.5bn 100% SRI pension fund

Asset diversification and more corporate activism top the to-do list of ERAFP managing director, Philippe Desfossés

Monitoring and reporting on corporate governance is essential for responsible investment

Why meaningful reform will depend on clear and appropriate benchmarking.

Canadian investors rise to RI challenge despite legal limbo

Support for ESG considerations high, but caution on fiduciary responsibilities.

Bringing human rights into pension finance. Interview with Gro Nystuen, Norway Govt Pension Fund

The chair of the Council of Ethics talks about exclusions, international norms and why Norway’s fund giant has become an ethical pensions leader.

Governments want more activism while the public shareholder base crumbles

Changing financial markets for the better will require protecting the DB base of active investors.

Sustainable investment in India is a marathon, not a sprint

A senior portfolio manager’s reflection on investing and governance in the world’s biggest democracy.

Drilling down into Asian corporate governance

Why local culture, legal and business knowledge could be key.

RI interview: Amy Domini on Obama, SRI returns and clipping hedge funds

After a decade ‘out-of-kilter’, Domini believes SRI strategies are in tune with the new US regime.

From Poznan to Copenhagen: policy makers look to investors on climate change policy

Chance now for investors to feed into the negotiating process.

Why should investors get involved in the ‘Better returns in a better world’ project?

How alleviating poverty can foster better market conditions in developing countries.

Climate change investing for pension funds – commercial decision or altruism?

By acting on climate change, schemes can help to protect returns from existing and future investments.

From crisis to catalyst

How ESG implementation could be the beginning of a solution to the market meltdown.

How the UK government finally settled the RI fiduciary duty debate

A statement in the House of Lords last week laid out the government’s view on responsible investment and the law.

France’s FRR: blue skies thinking on engagement and ESG manager selection

Reserve fund breaks the mould with planned corporate engagements and forthcoming ESG advisory hire.

Going direct: Norway’s €326bn investor ESG data project

Government supported investor initiative goes direct for company SRI key performance indicators.

How can investors assess labour and human rights risks?

A guide to one of the most difficult challenges in the ESG field.

Mn Services: The former Dutch politician now engaging with Wal-Mart

RI talks to Kris Douma, who leads the governance of 2000 companies worldwide for Mn Services, the Dutch pension fund manager.

Sovereign wealth funds: the future of ESG investing?

Attacked for political investing, could sovereign wealth funds actually be the most important future trend in ESG finance?

RI interview: Global Compact chief points the way for UNPRI

Georg Kell, executive director of the corporate forerunner of the UNPRI talks about the issues the $14 trillion investor initiative may have to face.

UN PRI Seoul special: interview with Donald Macdonald, PRI chair

PRI signatories gather in Seoul for the annual progress meeting of the huge investor initiative.

Investor appeal for ‘packaged’ sustainability products: TBLI Asia report

Investors, entrepreneurs and NGOs converge on Bangkok for TBLI Asia 2008.

Asia’s state pension funds: en route to better governance

Funds in China, Korea and Thailand break ground on voting and corporate accountability, but there are still areas to develop.

The importance of responsible investment: Views from the New Zealand Superannuation Fund

How New Zealand runs its NZ$13.5 bn (€6.8bn) national pension fund to protect the country’s reputation.

Dutch transport funds lay SRI tracks

SPF Beheer outlines move from best-in-class to engagement.

Mainstreaming RI: The Enhanced Analytics Initiative needs you!

Why the biggest challenge now is to get relevant extra-financial analysis direct to mainstream analysts.

EIRIS: Peter Webster looks back at 25 years of responsible research

UK research company celebrates 25th year of corporate and SRI scrutiny.

Why sovereign wealth funds have provoked schizophrenia in western markets

Market saviours or dangerous political investors? Sovereign wealth funds have got governments in a funk.

Foundations: $600bn of assets that need to get active

Why foundations should use the markets to support their philanthropic work.

Canada needs a “say on pay”

Canadian shareholders are weary of the “huge disconnect” between what many executives earn and how the companies they run perform.

US Special: Investors rally on say-on-pay and sub-prime votes

Compensation concerns in focus as US meeting season looms.

US Special: TIAA-CREF, head of the SRI class

Company plans new SRI strategy to add to microfinance, sustainable real estate and community banking.

UN PRI cuts its teeth with first public investor campaign

Supporters say boost to Global Compact points the way to more sophisticated collaborations.

Metallrente shows the way on RI in Germany

Country’s fastest growing fund explains why RI is a gradual but growing process amongst German peers.

How a TV documentary on cluster bombs became an ESG benchmark

New ranking compares Dutch pension funds on pollution and human rights issues.

How to solve the paradox of active ownership

Successful equity managers tend to be poor active owners, while active owners tend not to win equity mandates. Could unbundling the activities be the solution?

Darfur: The economic lifeline to genocide

How can institutional investors ensure they are not supporting death in Sudan?

Measuring asset managers for responsible investment

How can investors gauge whether their fund managers practice what they preach on RI?

Should pension funds be investing in companies with links to brutal governments?

Isn’t it time pension funds asked their members about their morals?

The lobby group fighting to make pensions fair

Alex van der Velden, executive director of FairPensions talks disinvestment, defined contribution, and benchmarking pension funds and asset managers for sustainability.

Why are corporate pension funds hiding from SRI?

Corporate social responsibility is everywhere, but companies are failing to spot the potential for their pension funds.

Getting alpha from activism

Can pension funds profit from increasingly aggressive hedge fund strategies?

Sweden’s AP funds’ ethical umbrella

Council gives Swedish state funds responsible investment muscle.

ABP’s total responsible investment strategy

Rob Lake, senior portfolio manager for environmental, social and governance at ABP, the €221bn ($311bn) pension fund for Dutch civil servants, talks clean tech, engagement and cluster bombs.

The Janus-faced foreign investors in China

Greenpeace says investors in China must act responsibly before we all pay the price.

The rising sun of institutional SRI in Asia

The SE Asia market for responsible investment is growing, but could be tested in a market downturn.

Why being responsible does not mean underperforming in SE Asia

Investment opportunities are ripe, but it pays to know the CSR terrain.

NYCERS: walkin’ the activist walk

Michael Musuraca explains how the New York City Employees fund got active.

USS shows enterprise in engagement

David Russell, co-head of Responsible Investment at the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), the £31bn (€46bn) second largest UK pension fund, explains how its SRI strategy is not just about risk but also reward.

Can ‘Made in China’ be responsible?

Theme of the month: Why investors must help clean up South East Asia’s companies.

UN PRI adds competitive edge to responsible investing

Can scoring move SRI to the mainstream?

Putting faith in engagement

3iG, the global interfaith movement, says it must do more than just exclude companies.

What difference will the UN Principles on Responsible Investment make?

Winning hearts and minds for sustainable prosperity.

SRI and performance: Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water

Analysts, investors and financial markets are developing a dangerous obsession in expecting corporations demonstrating best practice in corporate and social responsibility to provide better returns.

The RI interview: Bob Monks

One of the world’s most prominent corporate governance activists since the 1970s, Bob Monks talks about engagement, hedge fund activists, private equity and why ‘discouraged’ is not part of his vocabulary.