company executive said South32 intends to disclose future deaths that occur in environments where the company doesn’t have direct control in its annual sustainability report, though it still won’t classify them as an occupational fatality, which would affect bonuses. In its annual report, for the financial year ending June 2019, South32 said an absence of…
David Sirota on the DOL/EBSA ESG Proposal: A New Trump Rule Could Help Big Oil Crush The Climate Movement
This emblematic two-part story of climate deception starts with a new rule from Donald Trump’s Labor Department. Coming at a moment when fossil fuel companies and their investors are facing huge losses, the Trump rule aims to make it more difficult for pension and 401k administrators to shift workers’ savings out of fossil fuel assets…
Climate risk & board conflicts at Standard Bank – Just Share
n 8 June 2020, 14 climate justice NGOs led by Just Share wrote to asset managers with shares in Standard Bank Group Limited (Standard Bank), calling on them to vote against the election of five climate-conflicted directors at the bank’s AGM on 26 June. Seven of Standard Bank’s 18 board members have close ties to…
Are Boards Talking About ESG? Pearl Meyer
This is disappointing. The panel suggests they need to look at ESG to respond to proxy advisors and investors. They need to look at ESG for the same reason proxy advisors and investors do; to better assess investment risk and return.
Is ESG All About the ‘G’? That Depends on Your Time Horizon. – MSCI
While governance showed more financial significance in the short term, environmental and social issues’ contributions to stock-price performance unfolded largely over our full 13-year study period. As opposed to “event” risks that were more immediately priced in by investors, some issues, such as carbon emissions, presented a risk of “erosion” to competitiveness over time and…
Billion Dollar Looting of Malaysian Sovereign Wealth Fund — Former Prime Minister Convicted on All Seven Counts
As Doonsbury’s Uncle Duke put it so memorably, “But the pension fund was just sitting there!” The temptation to look money set aside for working people is a constant threat, as shown in two current headlines about the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund. A Malaysian court sentenced former Prime Minister Najib Razak to serve 12 years…
Work and Pensions Committee to examine impact of pension freedoms and protecting pension savers – News from Parliament – UK Parliament
We have been skeptical and critical of the shift from defined benefit to defined contribution pension plans. The entire idea of pension plans was to protect the retirement income security of working people by having their savings managed by expert professionals subject to the highest requirements of diligence and loyalty. What has been characterized as…
ISS’s Lorraine Kelly Responds to SEC Rule on Proxy Advisors
Lorraine Kelly, head of governance business at ISS, writes in Barron’s about the SEC’s proxy advisory rule. An excerpt: Since last year, the Securities and Exchange Commission has been swept up in a well-funded corporate lobbying campaign pressing for enactment of onerous regulations that will make it more difficult for shareholders to voice disagreement with…
Morningstar Comment to DOL/EBSA on ESG
Morningstar’s comment to DOL/EBSA urges the Department to require consideration of ESG factors in pension investments, not discourage it. Simply stated, the Labor Department’s proposed rule is out of step with the best practices that asset managers and financial advisors use to integrate ESG considerations into their investment processes and selections. Indeed, as we outlined in…
Teamsters Comment on DOL/EBSA ESG Proposal
The Teamsters comment on the DOL/EBSA is attached in full below. An excerpt: The Proposal offers a solution in search of a problem. For almost 30 years ESBA has issued a series of bulletins providing guidance to fiduciaries regarding their obligations when it comes to selecting investment options for plan participants. That guidance has emphasized…
