Leo Kolivakis is a blogger, trader and independent senior pension and investment analyst. This post was originally published at Pension Pulse. Tyler Hamilton of the Toronto Star reports, Ontario pension funds lost $2.4B from oil, coal investments: Ontario’s five largest pension funds lost an estimated $2.4 billion during the last half of 2014 because of investments … Continue reading Ontario Pensions’ Fossil Fuel Disaster?
PFZW, the pension fund that covers the Netherlands’ healthcare workers, announced on Tuesday its plans to divest from coal and fossil fuel holdings over the coming years. It is one of the largest institutional investors yet to voluntarily begin dropping its investments linked to fossil fuels. From Reuters: Citing the need to invest in a … Continue reading Dutch Pension Announces Fossil Fuel Divestment
The Vermont Pension Investment Committee (VPIC), the entity that manages the state’s pension assets, on Tuesday voted not to consider divesting from fossil fuel companies. Two elements drove the decision: the Board was told divestment could cost $9 million and wasn’t a sound financial decision; additionally, the state Treasurer urged the Board to act as … Continue reading Vermont Pension Board Declines to Divest From Fossil Fuels
The Board of the San Francisco Employees’ Retirement System (SFERS) voted Wednesday to begin engaging with the fossil fuel companies in which it invests. The vote opens the door for an eventual vote on divesting from fossil-fuel companies altogether – an idea that is sure to receive mixed reviews from board members and city officials. … Continue reading San Francisco Pension Votes to Engage With Fossil Fuel Companies Over Climate Change; Next Step Could Be Divestment
The members of six Dutch pension funds will vote on whether $35 billion in fund assets should be divested from coal, oil and gas investments. Divestment advocates filed a resolution Monday asking the six funds to sell off their fossil fuel investments by 2018, and to use shareholder power to encourage energy companies to use … Continue reading Fossil Fuel Divestment Put to Vote At Dutch Pension Funds
Pension360 has extensively covered the controversy around fossil fuel divestment – even organizations committed to sustainable investing are split on whether pension funds should divest from fossil fuel assets. But it’s interesting to hear the take of a oil executive. The Financial Times asked Nigel Costeloe of North Country Energy for his opinion on fossil … Continue reading An Oil Executive’s Take on Fossil Fuel Divestment
Different pension funds have different opinions on how climate change should affect investment strategy. Some, like Norway’s largest pension, are willing to divest from certain fossil fuels entirely. Others, like CalPERS, prefer to use their leverage as major shareholders to engage with companies rather than divest. Many others cite their fiduciary duties to pensioners as … Continue reading Sustainable Investing Experts Weigh In On Fossil Fuel Divestment; Is Engagement A Better Strategy?
Last week the advisory board of one of the largest asset owners in the world, the $857.1 billion Norway Pension Fund Global, concluded that divesting from fossil fuels would be an unwise financial decision that would reduce returns. But Edward Davey, Britain’s Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, said Monday he thinks fossil … Continue reading Britain Secretary of Energy: Investing in Fossil Fuels Big Risk for Pension Funds
There have been calls from many corners in recent months and years for pension funds and other institutional investors to begin divesting from fossil fuel-based investments. But not many institutional investors have heeded that call, choosing instead to use their sway as major shareholders to work with companies. One of the largest asset holders in … Continue reading Pension Advisory Board: Divesting From Fossil Fuels Will Harm Future Returns
KLP, Norway’s largest pension asset manager, said it plans to divest from coal companies and increase investments in renewable energy. The divestment from coal comes even as KLP remains heavily involved in oil and gas investments. That’s because an internal study suggested that divesting from all fossil fuel companies would pose big risks for KLP … Continue reading Norway’s Largest Pension Divests From Coal, But Sees Risks in Exiting Other Fossil Fuels
