Canada's biggest pension managers boost investments in high-carbon oil sands | Canada News Media
Connect with us

Investment

Canada’s biggest pension managers boost investments in high-carbon oil sands

Published

 on

Canada‘s biggest pension managers boosted their investments in the country’s major oil sands companies in the first quarter of 2021, raising questions about the funds’ recent commitments to greening their portfolios.

The cumulative investment by the country’s top five pension funds into the U.S.-listed shares of Canada‘s top four oil sands producers jumped to $2.4 billion in the first quarter of 2021, up 147% from a year ago, a Reuters analysis of U.S. 13-F filings show. Much of that increase, which bucked a declining trend since 2018, came from rising prices of shares already owned, but the funds also purchased more shares.

The five funds, in order of size, are Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP), British Columbia Investment Management Corp (BCI) and the Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP), which together manage more than C$1.4 trillion ($1.2 trillion) in assets.

Governments, companies and investors around the world have stepped up pledges to drastically reduce climate-warming greenhouse gas emissions. Some large pension managers, including the New York State Pension Fund and Norway’s largest pension fund KLP, have exited oil sands companies.

Canadian pensions face pressure to balance a mandate to be environmentally responsible with their fiduciary duty to maximise returns. Canada‘s oil sands are a high-carbon industry, yet their rising shares prices are tempting for investors.

Some Canadian pension funds say they favour continuing to invest in fossil fuel producers to help those firms transition toward producing cleaner energy.

“We have a big problem with pension funds saying we believe in engagement, not divestment, but there’s no sign of this engagement,” said Adam Scott, director of pension activist group Shift. “The very act of owning them (oil sands companies) implies the funds do not support transition.”

While first-quarter exposures to oil sands firms have risen, annual reports show three of the five pension funds decreased their overall energy exposure in 2020 from 2019. But the 13-F filings present a more up-to-date picture.

For details on Canadian pensions exposure to top oil sands producers:

Compared with same period in 2018, the funds’ investments in the four oil sands firms were down 0.9%.

While the Reuters analysis is restricted to four companies – Canadian Natural Resources Ltd, Suncor Energy, Cenovus Energy and Imperial Oil – it provides a glimpse into the funds’ investments in northern Alberta’s oil sands, the source of the highest emissions-per-barrel oil on the planet, according to a 2020 report from consultancy Rystad Energy.

CDPQ, OTPP and PSP decreased their cumulative exposure to energy to C$22.2 billion in 2020, from C$28.2 billion in 2019, according to annual reports.

But CPPIB, which manages C$497.2 billion in assets, saw exposure to fossil fuel producers rise 51.5% to C$17.6 billion at the end of March 2021, after falling for at least five years. The fund’s investments in renewable energy producers rose 16% to C$7.7 billion over the last year by comparison.

CPPIB declined to comment on the 13-F holdings data.

BCI’s annual reports do not break out energy investments as a percentage of overall holdings. Spokesman Ben O’Hara-Byrne said numerous factors affect changes in holdings, so percentages should not be used to derive assumptions about BCI’s response to environmental, social and governance (ESG) “integration efforts.”

A spokeswoman for PSP Investments said many of the investments were held in so-called “passive” portfolios containing a mix of assets based on a stock index designed to match overall market moves.

CDPQ did not comment specifically on its oil sands holdings, but a spokesman said fossil fuels represent a very small share of total assets owned by fund, which is targeting a carbon neutral portfolio by 2050.

OTPP has also committed to a net-zero portfolio by 2050 and will focus on climate-friendly investments that help shift away from fossil fuels, a spokesman said.

Randy Bauslaugh, co-Chair of McCarthy Tétrault’s Pension Funds Group, on Wednesday said in a new paper that pensions have a legal responsibility to take into account the risks of climate change.

“Pension fund fiduciaries who fail to consider or manage climate-related financial risks and opportunities, may find themselves personally liable for economic, reputational or organizational loss resulting from that failure,” he wrote.

($1 = 1.2049 Canadian dollars)

(Reporting by Maiya Keidan and Nia WilliamsEditing by Denny Thomas and David Gregorio)

Continue Reading

Investment

Tesla shares soar more than 14% as Trump win is seen boosting Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company

Published

 on

 

NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of Tesla soared Wednesday as investors bet that the electric vehicle maker and its CEO Elon Musk will benefit from Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

Tesla stands to make significant gains under a Trump administration with the threat of diminished subsidies for alternative energy and electric vehicles doing the most harm to smaller competitors. Trump’s plans for extensive tariffs on Chinese imports make it less likely that Chinese EVs will be sold in bulk in the U.S. anytime soon.

“Tesla has the scale and scope that is unmatched,” said Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, in a note to investors. “This dynamic could give Musk and Tesla a clear competitive advantage in a non-EV subsidy environment, coupled by likely higher China tariffs that would continue to push away cheaper Chinese EV players.”

Tesla shares jumped 14.8% Wednesday while shares of rival electric vehicle makers tumbled. Nio, based in Shanghai, fell 5.3%. Shares of electric truck maker Rivian dropped 8.3% and Lucid Group fell 5.3%.

Tesla dominates sales of electric vehicles in the U.S, with 48.9% in market share through the middle of 2024, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Subsidies for clean energy are part of the Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2022. It included tax credits for manufacturing, along with tax credits for consumers of electric vehicles.

Musk was one of Trump’s biggest donors, spending at least $119 million mobilizing Trump’s supporters to back the Republican nominee. He also pledged to give away $1 million a day to voters signing a petition for his political action committee.

In some ways, it has been a rocky year for Tesla, with sales and profit declining through the first half of the year. Profit did rise 17.3% in the third quarter.

The U.S. opened an investigation into the company’s “Full Self-Driving” system after reports of crashes in low-visibility conditions, including one that killed a pedestrian. The investigation covers roughly 2.4 million Teslas from the 2016 through 2024 model years.

And investors sent company shares tumbling last month after Tesla unveiled its long-awaited robotaxi at a Hollywood studio Thursday night, seeing not much progress at Tesla on autonomous vehicles while other companies have been making notable progress.

Tesla began selling the software, which is called “Full Self-Driving,” nine years ago. But there are doubts about its reliability.

The stock is now showing a 16.1% gain for the year after rising the past two days.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Source link

Continue Reading

Investment

S&P/TSX composite up more than 100 points, U.S. stock markets mixed

Published

 on

 

TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 100 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in base metal and utility stocks, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.

The S&P/TSX composite index was up 103.40 points at 24,542.48.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 192.31 points at 42,932.73. The S&P 500 index was up 7.14 points at 5,822.40, while the Nasdaq composite was down 9.03 points at 18,306.56.

The Canadian dollar traded for 72.61 cents US compared with 72.44 cents US on Tuesday.

The November crude oil contract was down 71 cents at US$69.87 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down eight cents at US$2.42 per mmBTU.

The December gold contract was up US$7.20 at US$2,686.10 an ounce and the December copper contract was up a penny at US$4.35 a pound.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 16, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Source link

Continue Reading

Economy

S&P/TSX up more than 200 points, U.S. markets also higher

Published

 on

 

TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 200 points in late-morning trading, while U.S. stock markets were also headed higher.

The S&P/TSX composite index was up 205.86 points at 24,508.12.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 336.62 points at 42,790.74. The S&P 500 index was up 34.19 points at 5,814.24, while the Nasdaq composite was up 60.27 points at 18.342.32.

The Canadian dollar traded for 72.61 cents US compared with 72.71 cents US on Thursday.

The November crude oil contract was down 15 cents at US$75.70 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down two cents at US$2.65 per mmBTU.

The December gold contract was down US$29.60 at US$2,668.90 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents at US$4.47 a pound.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 11, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Source link

Continue Reading

Trending

Exit mobile version