More comment – Page 24
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Opinion PiecesNotes on the Nordics: Moves may set up net-zero goal for GPFG
Two events have happened in quick succession that increase the chances of Norway instructing its huge sovereign wealth fund to push for net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in its investment portfolio.
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Opinion PiecesAgriculture: Time to rethink farming
The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), released in August, provides grim reading. According to the summary for policymakers: “It is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land. Widespread and rapid changes in the atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere and biosphere have occurred.”
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Opinion PiecesLetter from Australia: Public places, private matters
AustralianSuper marked a milestone with its successful takeover in 2019 of education provider, Navitas, for A$2.1bn (€1.3bn).
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Opinion PiecesGuest Viewpoint: The climate is ripe for change
If there is to be a successful transition to a net- zero global economy, trillions of dollars need to be invested in renewable energy generation, electricity transmission and storage systems, and energy efficiency. The need is for fresh money. At scale.
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Opinion PiecesViewpoint: Dump fossil fuels?
It is unrealistic to expect energy to become cheaper in the months to come
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Opinion PiecesViewpoint: We cannot let the fear of greenwashing impede real change
You could be forgiven for thinking greenwashing is everywhere
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Opinion PiecesViewpoint: Reform lessons from abroad
Pensions systems can be hard to compare but experiences from other countries can help illuminate the current Dutch reform process
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Opinion PiecesPolicy underpins action
Politicians in a variety of different places understandably want to harness the capital of institutional investors. Dutch and UK politicians in particular have made no secret of their desire for local pension funds to invest for domestic ends.
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Opinion PiecesOpportunities beyond the traditional approach to PE
The many thousands of fast-growing small and mid-sized companies globally represent the potential giants of tomorrow, and also provide a fertile hunting ground for those seeking superior investment opportunities.
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Opinion PiecesNorway SWF’s net-zero plans under scrutiny
Last month the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund – Government Pension Fund Global – was reprimanded by several industry experts and economists for not having yet joined the United Nations-convened Net Zero Asset Owner Alliance.
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Opinion PiecesAfrica’s challenge for Europe
“Europe needs to create a new ‘spice route’ through Africa to the markets of Asia”. That was what Martin Schoeller, managing director of the Schoeller Group, a diversified services company with a focus on sustainability, told me in a discussion on the need for greater European investment in Africa.
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Opinion Pieces
Notes from the Netherlands: Truly Paris aligned
A milestone was reached in July when the first Dutch pension fund announced its divestment from fossil fuels. Surprisingly, the fund in question was neither civil service scheme ABP nor healthcare fund PFZW, the two largest Dutch funds, both of which have the ambition to be leaders in sustainable and responsible.
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Opinion PiecesLetter from Australia: Too good to be true?
If Australia’s latest five-yearly Intergenerational Report (IGR) is to be taken seriously, Australian retirees can look forward to comfortable retirements 40 years hence.
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Opinion PiecesLetter from US: SEC looks towards mandatory ESG disclosure by companies
October will be an important month for investors and corporations as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will then propose new rules on climate change and other environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues.
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Opinion PiecesGuest Viewpoint: Amlan Roy - Changing mindsets on demography is vital
Recent news headlines have warned about the implications of current and projected population growth declines. This article provides perspective on impending demographic changes and their manifold implications
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Opinion PiecesViewpoint: Closing the emerging market climate finance gap
‘Extending loans to emerging markets will not be enough’
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Opinion PiecesViewpoint: Learning from the Nordics for impact investing
A meaningful allocation is important
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Opinion PiecesViewpoint: Time to start rebalancing portfolios
A whiff of ‘stagflation’ – meaning an economic slowdown accompanied by higher inflation – could soon be wafting into financial market
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Opinion PiecesGovernance must be the embedded solution
Europe now has approaching two decades of experience with the investment outsourcing that is loosely called fiduciary management, or sometimes outsourced CIO (OCIO), to use the US terminology.
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Opinion PiecesESG: progress but still much road to travel
Good things are happening in the land of ESG. Aspects of the European Commission’s sustainable finance action plan regulation have certainly been frustrating, but the sustainable finance disclosure regulation (SFDR), for example, does look like it could end up having a beneficial effect, even though there are still problems associated with it and the effect is perhaps not the one that was envisaged for the SFDR.
