Forum on Pension Fund Investing and Climate Change

Pension fund trustees and their investment managers and service providers have a fiduciary obligation to pension beneficiaries to act prudently in their best interests in making investment decisions regarding fund portfolios. Pension funds will potentially lose significant value of their investments if they do not act as prudent investors by recognizing climate change financial risk as well as climate driven investment opportunities. The panel will discuss strategies to meet prudential obligations to undertake careful evaluation of climate change and share examples of investment strategy decisions that are based on a time frame commensurate with the pension plan’s liabilities.

The event is co-hosted by the Dhillon Centre for Business Ethics at UBC Sauder School of Business, the Centre for Corporate Governance and Sustainability at SFU Beedie School of Business, the Canada Climate Law Initiative and the Centre for Business Law at UBC Allard School of Law, and the Shareholder Association for Research and Education (SHARE).

Panelists:

• Murray Gold, Senior Pensions and Benefits Partner, Koskie Minsky LLP
• Janis Sarra, UBC Presidential Distinguished Professor and Professor of Law at the Allard School of Law, University of British Columbia
• Jacky Shen, Director of Treasury, Simon Fraser University
• Stephanie Bertels (moderator), Director of the Centre for Corporate Governance and Sustainability at SFU Beedie School of Business, and Trustee and Co-Chair of the SFU Academic Pension Plan

Hosted By Dhillon Centre for Business Ethics at UBC Sauder School of Business, the Centre for Corporate Governance and Sustainability at SFU Beedie School of Business, the Canada Climate Law Initiative and the Centre for Business Law at UBC Allard School of Law, and the Shareholder Association for Research and Education (SHARE)