TORONTO and BOSTON, Oct. 19, 2020 /CNW/ – As sustainable investing continues to drive interest across the globe, Manulife Investment Management announced it was recently recognized in the Principles for Responsible Investment’s PRI Leaders’ Group 2020, a 10-year initiative honoring signatories at the cutting edge of responsible investment. This year, 36 signatories, including Manulife Investment Management, were recognized for demonstrating responsible investment excellence in climate reporting throughout their organization and portfolios.
“We are grateful to the PRI for recognizing our efforts in integrating climate data and analysis into our portfolios and pleased to detail our extensive sustainability initiatives across our investment teams in our Sustainable and Responsible Investing Report,” said Paul Lorentz, President and CEO, Manulife Investment Management. “Sustainability is a natural fit for our organization, given our traditional focus on risk management and investment research, and our history of sustainably operating real assets such as timber and farmland. Today, we offer a number of ways for investors to align their investments with their values, and our commitment to ESG investing deepens every year.”
Manulife Investment Management showcases its ongoing commitment to ESG analysis, research, and integration with its second annual Sustainable and Responsible Investing Report. Released today, the report covers activities in both public and private markets in sustainable asset management and showcases a holistic view of Manulife Investment Management’s sustainability-focused research capabilities, engagement activities, and asset ownership practices. The document also demonstrates concrete steps taken at the firm throughout 2019 to integrate sustainability considerations into investment decision-making. The Sustainable and Responsible Investing Report outlines Manulife Investment Management’s key areas of sustainability focus and metrics of success. Focus areas include strong governance, ESG integration, active and responsible ownership, and global collaboration across numerous platforms for broader industry effectiveness.
Highlights from private markets in 2019, pertaining to real estate, private equity and infrastructure, included formalizing a robust governance structure for its sustainable investing program, actively participating in industry associations such as Leading Harvest Sustainable Farmland Management Standard and improving Real Estate GRESB scores, earning a “Green Star” ranking in six submissions. In public markets, Manulife Investment Management advanced ESG integration and active engagement across its equity and fixed-income capabilities. As a result, Manulife Investment Management won the 2019 SDG Canadian Leadership Awards for large enterprise – Canada’s premier award for organizations and businesses doing exceptional work to integrate and advance the 17 Sustainable and Development Goals of the United Nations Global Compact.
“We’re proud of the progress we’ve made driving our sustainable and responsible investing at Manulife Investment Management as we strive to lead the industry in ESG integration practices,” said Christopher P. Conkey, CFA, global head of public markets, Manulife Investment Management. “For investors, focusing on sustainability is more important now than it has ever been; the world is running up against the limits of natural capital, which increases social and economic risks in virtually every corner of the capital markets. Sustainability and resilience are central to our clients’ objectives, to the broader set of stakeholders with whom we work, and to the communities whose lives are touched by our capital allocation decisions.”
“Responsible stewardship of our clients’ capital resides at the core of our business and culture,” added Stephen J. Blewitt, global head of private markets, Manulife Investment Management. “As sustainable investing continues to migrate from the margins of our industry to its mainstream, investor demand drives that shift. By doing the right things for the right reasons, we also aspire to be a partner of choice for clients who recognize that ESG considerations are often tied to economic ones.”
Inaugural TCFD report
As part of its 2019 Sustainable and Responsible Investing report, Manulife Investment Management included its inaugural TCFD report—which follows the voluntary disclosure framework developed by the Financial Stability Board’s Taskforce for Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD). The framework sets out how businesses should disclose climate-related financial risks and opportunities within the context of their existing disclosure requirements. For Manulife Investment Management, this report offers details on the firm’s approach to climate-related sustainability governance, risk management, strategy for managing climate-related risks and opportunities, and the metrics used to manage and monitor alignment with climate-related goals.
Top Scores on PRI Assessment
Also contained in the 2019 report is Manulife Investment Management’s recently announced Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) assessment results and rationale. Scores for 2019 included:
A+ for strategy and governance
A+ for equity integration
A+ for SSA fixed-income integration (sovereign, supranational, and agency debt)
A for real estate
A for equity active ownership
A for fixed income (corporate financial, corporate non-financial, and securitized)
B for infrastructure (this asset class was submitted for the first time)
B for private equity (this asset class was submitted for the first time)
About Manulife Investment Management Manulife Investment Management is the global wealth and asset management segment of Manulife Financial Corporation. We draw on more than a century of financial stewardship and the full resources of our parent company to serve individuals, institutions, and retirement plan members worldwide. Headquartered in Toronto, our leading capabilities in public and private markets are strengthened by an investment footprint that spans 17 countries and territories. We complement these capabilities by providing access to a network of unaffiliated asset managers from around the world. We’re committed to investing responsibly across our businesses. We develop innovative global frameworks for sustainable investing, collaboratively engage with companies in our securities portfolios, and maintain a high standard of stewardship where we own and operate assets, and we believe in supporting financial well-being through our workplace retirement plans. Today, plan sponsors around the world rely on our retirement plan administration and investment expertise to help their employees plan for, save for, and live a better retirement.
As of June 30, 2020, Manulife Investment Management had CAD$900 billion (US$660 billion) in assets under management and administration. Not all offerings are available in all jurisdictions. For additional information, please visit manulifeim.com.
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.
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.
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.
