Environmental, social, and corporate governance investing might dominate the public conversation around institutional portfolios, but only the largest public pension funds in the U.S. have made significant headway in adopting impact investments. For smaller- and mid-sized defined benefit plans, a fully-integrated ESG portfolio remains a distant dream.
According to a survey from Cerulli Associates, 20 U.S. public pension plans are listed as members of Climate Action 100+, an initiative to fight climate change through corporate governance. Ninety percent of respondents believed public pensions will have a moderate-to-high demand for ESG strategies in the next two to three years. When compared to other allocators, public defined benefit plans’ demand for impact investment strategies fell in the middle of the pack. The survey showed that family offices, high net-worth individuals, and foundations had even higher demand for ESG strategies in 2020.
Diversity in leadership shines a brighter light on business and investment outcomes
Diverse leaders excel and lead across all sectors of the investment industry today. As decision-makers in their organizations, women and racial and ethnic-minority professionals bring their unique viewpoints and experiences to allocating capital, making investment decisions and helping recognize and promote diverse talent that mirrors the communities and companies they invest in.
“The vibrancy of dialogue around diversity, equity and inclusion across organizations is certainly more amplified today than it’s ever been,” said Nancy Sims, president and chief executive officer of the Robert Toigo Foundation, an Oakland, Calif.-based nonprofit that has been “addressing the intersection between talent and opportunity in the industry for over 30 years.”