Category: News

Toronto — April 16, 2019 — A growing wave of Canadian financial advisors are specializing in the practice of responsible investment (RI), which refers to investments that incorporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors.

More than 850 financial professionals have either earned an RI designation or are in line to earn one from the Responsible Investment Association (RIA), a Canadian non-profit organization that promotes education and awareness around RI.

“The investment industry is entering a new era,” said Dustyn Lanz, CEO of the RIA. “Investors are increasingly conscious about the impacts of their investment decisions, and they want their advisors to be knowledgeable about how ESG risks could affect their portfolios,” he said. “Responsible investment is not a trend; it’s a paradigm shift.”

The Responsible Investment Specialist (RIS) program, launched by the RIA in 2016, provides education about the Canadian retail market for responsible investment. Desjardins has committed to putting 500 of its representatives through the RIS program, while Vancity has enrolled more than 100 of its representatives.

“We’re very happy about our partnership with RIA, which allows us to provide our advisors and employees with the resources they need to expand their knowledge of RI,” said Sébastien Vallée, Director, Investment Solutions Development and Management, at Desjardins. “Through this program, Desjardins agents and employees will be fully prepared to support our members and clients who want to make environmental, social and governance factors part of their investment strategy,” added Mr. Vallée.

“As one of the first financial institutions in Canada to focus on responsible investing, Vancity has been a long-time supporter of the RIA and in particular the RIS program,” said Steve Eng, Director at Vancity Investment Management. “It has given our wealth professionals the opportunity to take their knowledge of responsible investing to the next level, and we look forward to growing our relationship with RIA in the years ahead.”

Assiniboine, Kindred, Libro, Servus, and other credit unions are also putting their investment teams through the RIS program, as a growing number of their members are seeking to align their portfolios with their values.

RI fund companies NEI Investments, iA Clarington Investments, and others are also supporting the RIS program by training their staff and partnering with credit unions to promote education about responsible investing.

In addition to the RIS program, the RIA also offers the Responsible Investment Advisor Certification (RIAC) and Responsible Investment Professional Certification (RIPC) programs, which provide training in RI activities such as integrating ESG issues into financial models.

Learn more about RI training at riacanada.ca/training-certification.

About the Responsible Investment Association
The Responsible Investment Association (RIA) is a national membership association dedicated to advancing responsible investment (RI) in Canada. RIA members include asset management firms, financial institutions, investment advisors, service providers and asset owners such as foundations, pension funds and universities who practice and support RI. To learn more about the RIA, please visit www.riacanada.ca.

Media Enquiries
Nick Buccheri, RIA Manager, Communications & Digital Media
+1 416-461-6042

Highlights

• At the start of 2018, global sustainable investment assets reached $30.7 trillion, a 34 percent increase from 2016.
• Sustainable investment, also known as responsible investment, commands a sizable share of professionally managed assets in each region, ranging from 18 percent in Japan to 63 percent in Australia and New Zealand.
• Europe accounts for the largest pool of sustainable investment assets with €12.3 trillion ($14.1 trillion) in assets under management, followed by the United States with $12.0 trillion.
• Negative/exclusionary screening remains the most prevalent sustainable investment approach globally, affecting $19.8 trillion in assets, followed by ESG integration, applied to $17.5 trillion in assets.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – April 1, 2019 – Today the Global Sustainable Investment Alliance (GSIA) released its biennial Global Sustainable Investment Review 2018, showing that global sustainable investment assets reached $30.7 trillion at the start of 2018, a 34 percent increase from 2016.

In its fourth edition, the biennial Global Sustainable Investment Review brings together the results from regional market studies by the sustainable investment forums of Europe, the United States, Japan, Canada, and Australia and New Zealand. It also includes data on the African sustainable investing market in cooperation with the African Investing for Impact Barometer and highlights from several countries in North, Central and South America provided by the Principles for Responsible Investment.

The 2018 Global Sustainable Investment Review found that sustainable investing assets have grown in all regions since 2016. Europe accounts for the largest concentration of sustainable investment assets globally, with total assets of €12.3 trillion ($14.1 trillion). However, the share of Europe’s sustainable investing assets in the region’s overall assets under professional management declined from 53 percent to 49 percent. The slight drop may be due to a move to stricter standards and definitions of sustainable investing.

The United States is the second largest region based on its value of sustainable investing assets. Total US-domiciled assets under management using sustainable strategies grew from $8.7 trillion at the start of 2016 to $12.0 trillion at the start of 2018, an increase of 38 percent.

In Japan, sustainable investing assets quadrupled from 2016 to 2018, growing from just 3 percent of total professionally managed assets in the country to 18 percent. This growth has made Japan the third largest center for sustainable investing after Europe and the United States.

In Canada, sustainable investing assets grew by 42 percent over the two-year period and now account for over 50 percent of professionally managed assets in the country.

Australasia (Australia and New Zealand) is the region with the greatest proportion of sustainable investment assets relative to total assets under management: 63 percent.

The largest sustainable investment strategy globally is negative/exclusionary screening ($19.8 trillion), followed by ESG integration ($17.5 trillion) and corporate engagement/shareholder action ($9.8 trillion). Negative screening remains the largest strategy in Europe, while ESG integration continues to dominate in the United States, Canada and Australia/New Zealand in asset-weighted terms. Corporate engagement and shareholder action is the dominant strategy in Japan.

Norms-based screening has lost ground in Europe, with substantially fewer assets managed under this strategy than in 2016. Despite modest growth in Canada, and more rapid growth in Japan in assets managed under norms-based screening, the global total of these assets fell from 2016 to 2018.

Impact investing is a small but vibrant segment of the broader sustainable and responsible investing universe in all the markets studied. GSIA defines impact investing as targeted investments aimed at solving social or environmental problems. Community investing, whereby capital is specifically directed to traditionally underserved individuals or communities, is included in this category, as is finance that is provided to businesses with an explicit social or environmental purpose.

To download the full report, visit gsi-alliance.org.

About the Global Sustainable Investment Review
The Global Sustainable Investment Review 2018, the fourth edition of this biennial report, continues to be the only report collating results from the market studies of regional sustainable investment forums from Europe, the United States, Japan, Canada, and Australia and New Zealand. It provides a snapshot of sustainable investing in these markets at the start of 2018 by drawing on the in-depth regional and national reports from GSIA members—Eurosif, Japan Sustainable Investment Forum (JSIF), Responsible Investment Association Australasia, RIA Canada and US SIF. This report also includes data on the African sustainable investing market, from the African Investing for Impact Barometer, and on Latin America from the Principles for Responsible Investment.

The Global Sustainable Investment Review 2018 was made possible through the generosity of report sponsors Hermes Investment Management, RBC Global Asset Management and UBS.

About The Global Sustainable Investment Alliance
The Global Sustainable Investment Alliance (GSIA) is a collaboration of membership-based sustainable investment organizations around the world. GSIA’s mission is to deepen the impact and visibility of sustainable investment organizations at the global level. Its vision is a world where sustainable investment is integrated into financial systems and the investment chain and where all regions of the world have coverage by vigorous membership-based institutions that represent and advance the sustainable investment community. For more information, visit gsi-alliance.org.

March 27th, 2019 – Toronto – The Responsible Investment Association (RIA) is pleased to announce that Æquo Shareholder Engagement Services has joined the RIA as a Supporting Member.

“We are very happy to welcome Æquo as a Supporting Member of the Responsible Investment Association,” said Dustyn Lanz, Chief Executive Officer of the RIA. “Æquo’s leadership team has a long history of commitment to shareholder engagement, and we look forward to working with them to advance responsible investing in Canada.”

The RIA is Canada’s industry association dedicated to advancing responsible investment, which refers to the incorporation of ESG factors into the selection and management of investments. RIA membership has grown rapidly in recent years as investors increasingly seek investments that align with their values and manage exposure to ESG risks and opportunities. According to research published by the RIA $2.1 trillion are invested responsible in Canada, equal to more than 50% of professionally managed AUM in Canada.

“We are thrilled to be joining a larger movement of actors spearheading responsible investing in Canada,” said Jean-Philippe Renaut, CEO, Aequo. “The growth of RIA signals the adoption of ESG factors and shareholder engagement the investment process. Through the dialogue it leads on behalf of institutional investors, Æquo aims to improves corporate behavior and steer our society as a whole in a more sustainable direction.”

Æquo conducts shareholder engagement on behalf of institutional investors seeking to integrate environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations into their investment processes. Æquo represents international institutional investors including pension funds, asset managers, and faith-based communities. Many of its clients are signatories to the Principles of Responsible Investment (PRI) and represent more than CA$110 billion AUM.

About Responsible Investment Association
The Responsible Investment Association (RIA) is Canada’s membership association for Responsible Investment (RI). Members include mutual fund companies, financial institutions, asset management firms, advisors, consultants, investment research firms, asset owners, individual investors and others interested in RI. Our members believe that the integration of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into the selection and management of investments can provide superior risk adjusted returns and positive societal impact. To learn more about the RIA, please visit www.riacanada.ca.

Media Enquiries
Nick Buccheri, Manager, Communications and Digital Media, RIA, +1 416-461-6042

March 21, 2019 – Toronto – The Responsible Investment Association (RIA) is pleased to announce that National Bank Investments (NBI) has joined the RIA as an Associate Member.

“We are delighted to welcome National Bank Investments as an Associate Member of the Responsible Investment Association,” said Dustyn Lanz, Chief Executive Officer of the RIA. “We applaud National Bank Investments for their strengthened commitment to responsible investing, and we look forward to working with them to promote the integration of environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues into investment decisions.”

The RIA is Canada’s industry association dedicated to advancing responsible investment, which refers to the incorporation of ESG factors into the selection and management of investments. RIA membership has grown rapidly in recent years as investors increasingly seek investments that align with their values and manage exposure to ESG risks and opportunities. According to research published by the RIA $2.1 trillion are invested responsible in Canada, equal to more than 50% of professionally managed AUM in Canada.

“NBI is the leading bank-affiliated asset management firm in Canada that is guided by a 100% open architecture structure. We strongly believe that selecting managers who integrate ESG factors into their investment process leads to better outcomes for our clients,” said Terry Dimock, Head Portfolio Manager at NBI. “By becoming a member of the RIA and promoting ESG factors integration, we will be helping our clients reach their financial goals while simultaneously contributing to a positive societal impact.”

National Bank Investments Inc. (NBI) is an investment fund management firm that provides a comprehensive range of mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, investment solutions and services designed to help individual, high-net-worth and institutional investors.

About Responsible Investment Association
The Responsible Investment Association (RIA) is Canada’s membership association for Responsible Investment (RI). Members include mutual fund companies, financial institutions, asset management firms, advisors, consultants, investment research firms, asset owners, individual investors and others interested in RI. Our members believe that the integration of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into the selection and management of investments can provide superior risk adjusted returns and positive societal impact. To learn more about the RIA, please visit www.riacanada.ca.

Media Enquiries
Nick Buccheri, Manager, Communications and Digital Media, RIA, +1 416-461-6042

New policy targets equal gender representation

By Dustyn Lanz
Chief Executive Officer of the RIA

Responsible investors have long advocated for greater diversity in corporate leadership. The rationale has been simple: it’s the right thing to do for organizations to have a diversity of perspectives to reflect the markets they serve and to provide advancement opportunities for the full range of skilled people within their organizations.

It also makes good business sense. Research has shown that companies with more women in leadership tend to outperform on a number of financial indicators, including return on equity, return on sales, share price performance, and other metrics. It really makes sense when you think about it: Why wouldn’t an organization want access to half the population’s talent?

Yet despite the strong business and ethical cases for diversity, women remain egregiously underrepresented in corporate leadership in Canada. A recent Osler report found that women currently hold about 16% of board seats at TSX-listed companies, and 66% of boards have one or fewer women. The charts below show the breakdown. There is clearly much work to be done to make corporate Canada more representative of society.

Source: Osler, 2018 Diversity Disclosure Practices

While the Responsible Investment Association (RIA) is not a publicly-traded “for-profit” company, we aim to be part of the solution and to demonstrate leadership on governance and diversity. While women currently hold 42% of seats on the RIA’s board of directors, we are striving to do better. We are, therefore, pleased to announce our new board diversity policy, which was formalized by the RIA board of directors on February 28th, 2019.

The policy strives for equal gender representation on our board over time. While we recognize that women are underrepresented in the financial sector overall, there tends to be stronger gender diversity in the responsible investment community.

I would like to thank the RIA board of directors for making this policy happen, and I would like to extend a special thanks to our governance policy committee for putting in extra hours to draft, revise and develop the policy over the past few months. Those committee members are Lisa Becker (University of Toronto Asset Management), Edgar Hielema (Gardiner Roberts), Milla Craig (Millani) and Ian Robertson (Odlum Brown).

As noted above, much work remains to be done to achieve a gender balance in corporate leadership. But on this International Women’s Day, we hope our policy can encourage others to join the pursuit of more diverse and representative boards in Canada.

Read the full board diversity policy here:
https://www.riacanada.ca/content/uploads/2019/03/RIA-Board-Diversity-Policy.pdf

In RIA CEO Dustyn Lanz’s latest column, he explores how product availability and awareness of social and environmental problems has laid the foundation for growth in impact investment. As shown in the latest Canadian Impact Investment Trends Report, impact investing is growing at a staggering pace in Canada. Impact assets under management (AUM) in Canada now total $14.75 billion, up from $8.15 billion reported two years prior. This represents 81% growth over two years, which is nearly double the growth rate of all RI AUM over the same period, much of which can be attributed to public markets.

Read the full article. 

Tremendous growth driven largely by investor demand for impact across asset classes, including public markets

TORONTO – February 21, 2019 – The 2018 Canadian Impact Investment Trends Report shows that impact investing is growing rapidly in Canada, up from $8.15 billion at the end of 2015 to $14.75 billion at the end of 2017 – reflecting a growth rate of 81% over two years.

The report, released today by the Responsible Investment Association (RIA) in collaboration with Rally Assets, tracks the growth and development of impact investing in Canada. Impact investing refers to “investments made into companies, organizations, and funds with the intention to generate social and environmental impact alongside a financial return.” The report is based on survey data collected from asset managers and asset owners, as well as publicly-available sources.

This significant growth is attributable to rising demand for impact across asset classes, including public markets. Public equities now represent 41% of impact assets under management, which reflects the growing desire of investors to seek impact across their entire portfolio. The report also revealed that, while impact investors target various rates of return, impact investors overwhelmingly reported that performance has met or exceeded their expectations.

“Consumers and investors are increasingly aware and concerned about societal challenges, and these concerns have paved the way for impact investing,” said Dustyn Lanz, CEO of the RIA. “There is still a long road ahead for addressing poverty, climate change and other great societal challenges. But the growth of impact investing brings cause for optimism, because many of the solutions will start with a single investment.”

Survey respondents are bullish on the future growth of impact investing in Canada, with 89% of respondents expecting moderate to high levels of growth over the next two years.

“Why is impact investment growing? Because it’s working. Investors who are aligning their assets with their values report that they are meeting or exceeding their financial targets while creating measurable impact,” said Andrea Nemtin, Partner at Rally Assets. “It’s becoming easier to mobilize capital towards issues that matter to investors and our shared future.”

Highlights

• Impact assets under management (AUM) in Canada now total $14.75 billion, up from $8.15 billion reported two years prior. This represents 81% growth over a two-year period, which is nearly double the growth rate of all responsible investment (RI) AUM, which grew by 41.6% over the same period.
• Impact investments in Canada have expanded significantly into public markets, particularly into public equities that now represent 41% of impact AUM reported. Correspondingly, impact investment funds and managers now account for over half of impact AUM.
• While impact investors target various rates of return for their investments, investors overwhelmingly reported that performance has met or exceeded their expectations.
• According to survey respondents, the considerable growth of impact investing in Canada is likely to continue. 89% of respondents expect moderate to high levels of growth in impact investing over the next two years.

View the full report here: https://www.riacanada.ca/research/2018-impact-trends-report/

About the Canadian Impact Investment Trends Report
The Responsible Investment Association (RIA) publishes the Canadian Impact Investment Trends Report on a biennial basis to understand and assess the characteristics of impact investing in Canada. Researchers collected survey data from investment managers, asset owners and impact organizations. This data was supplemented by publicly-available sources such as annual reports.

About the Responsible Investment Association
The Responsible Investment Association (RIA) is Canada’s industry association dedicated to responsible investment (RI). Members include mutual fund companies, financial institutions, asset management firms, advisors, consultants, investment research firms, asset owners, individual investors and others interested in RI. Our members believe that the incorporation of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into the selection and management of investments can provide superior risk adjusted returns and positive societal impact.

Media Enquiries
Nick Buccheri,
Manager, Communications & Digital Media
Responsible Investment Association
+1 416-461-6042

February 14th, 2019 – Toronto – The Responsible Investment Association (RIA) is pleased to announce that New Market Funds has joined the RIA as a Supporting Member.

“We are delighted to welcome New Market Funds as a Supporting Member of the Responsible Investment Association,” said Dustyn Lanz, Chief Executive Officer of the RIA. “We applaud New Market Funds for their commitment to impact investing in affordable housing and community real estate development. We look forward to working with them to advance responsible and impact investing in Canada.”

The RIA is Canada’s industry association dedicated to advancing responsible investment, which refers to the incorporation of ESG factors into the selection and management of investments. RIA membership has grown rapidly in recent years as investors increasingly seek investments that align with their values and manage exposure to ESG risks and opportunities. According to research published by the RIA $2.1 trillion are invested responsible in Canada, equal to more than 50% of professionally managed AUM in Canada.

“New Market Funds was established in 2013 to provide strong community-based enterprises with access to investment capital while developing investment opportunities with intentional, measured, and positive social and environmental impact for foundations and other investors,” said Garth Davis, a Managing Partner at New Market Funds. “We look forward to working with the RIA and fellow members to grow the options for impact investing in Canada.”

New Market Funds (NMF) is a multi-fund manager that takes an integrated investment approach to deliver market competitive financial performance with community benefit.

About Responsible Investment Association
The Responsible Investment Association (RIA) is Canada’s membership association for Responsible Investment (RI). Members include mutual fund companies, financial institutions, asset management firms, advisors, consultants, investment research firms, asset owners, individual investors and others interested in RI. Our members believe that the integration of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into the selection and management of investments can provide superior risk adjusted returns and positive societal impact. To learn more about the RIA, please visit www.riacanada.ca.

Media Enquiries
Nick Buccheri, Manager, Communications and Digital Media, RIA, +1 416-461-6042

Data provided by Fundata shows that Canadian RI mutual funds performed well in Q4 2018. Despite significant market volatility at the end of the three-month period ending December 31, 2018, a majority of RI funds across 19 asset classes outperformed their average asset class return over the short, medium and long-term.

Two-thirds of RI funds outperformed their average asset class return in the fourth quarter of 2018, and more than 70% of funds outperformed over the past 12 months. RI funds with longer track records performed well, highlighting the long-term value of incorporating environmental, social and governance factors into investment decisions. More than half of RI funds with a three-year and 10-year track record outperformed their average asset class return, while 70% of funds with a five-year track record outperformed.

Download the Q4 Highlights
Download the Full Report

January 17th, 2019 – Toronto – The Responsible Investment Association (RIA) is pleased to announce that Foresters Asset Management Inc. has joined the RIA as an Associate Member.

“We are pleased to welcome Foresters Asset Management as an Associate Member of the Responsible Investment Association,” said Dustyn Lanz, Chief Executive Officer of the RIA. “We applaud Foresters’ strengthened commitment to responsible investing, and we look forward to working with them to advance responsible investing in Canada.”

The RIA is Canada’s industry association dedicated to advancing responsible investment, which refers to the incorporation of ESG factors into the selection and management of investments. RIA membership has grown rapidly in recent years as investors increasingly seek investments that align with their values and manage exposure to ESG risks and opportunities. According to research published by the RIA $2.1 trillion are invested responsible in Canada, equal to more than 50% of professionally managed AUM in Canada.

“Responsible investing simply makes sense. It is aligned with the values of our investment team, the objectives of our stakeholders, and the more than 140 years of community-focus that is the heart of the ‘Foresters Financial Purpose,’” said Suzann Pennington, Chief Investment Officer, Foresters Asset Management Inc. “Not only is it the right thing to do, the evidence suggests that integrating responsible investment decisions can increase long-term risk-adjusted returns in properly diversified portfolios. We are excited to be associated with the RIA’s network of like-minded investors and look forward to working together to support sustainable investing for the future.”

Foresters Asset Management Inc. oversees $10 billion in retail, institutional, and third-party assets. FAM is backed by Foresters Financial™, an international financial services provider with total funds under management of $45.1 billion, overseen by more than 30 investment professionals.

About Responsible Investment Association
The Responsible Investment Association (RIA) is Canada’s membership association for Responsible Investment (RI). Members include mutual fund companies, financial institutions, asset management firms, advisors, consultants, investment research firms, asset owners, individual investors and others interested in RI. Our members believe that the integration of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into the selection and management of investments can provide superior risk adjusted returns and positive societal impact. To learn more about the RIA, please visit www.riacanada.ca.

Media Enquiries
Nick Buccheri, Manager, Communications and Digital Media, RIA, +1 416-461-6042