Newly Issued Guidance for UK Pension Schemes Emphasizes Need to Consider ESG Factors

Sustainable investing and the consideration of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors continue to gain prominence. The new 2017 investment guidance for defined benefit (DB) schemes from The Pensions Regulator (TPR) in the United Kingdom has material new ESG content. This follows similar guidance for defined contribution (DC) schemes issued last year. Cambridge Associates has prepared this short piece to summarise this guidance and its implications for pension scheme investment strategy, including how we might help.

September 2017

Considerations for ESG Policy Development

The practice of sustainable investing and the consideration of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors continues to grow. Concurrently, the demand for effective investment policies that facilitate exploration and integration of sustainable investment strategies with primary portfolio objectives is also increasing. However, actually arriving at an actionable policy statement that enjoys broad support and commitment […]

June 2017

Will the US Withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord Boost the Prospects for Investments in Energy?

No. Market forces and technological innovation have been far more impactful on the energy sector than environmental regulations. Investors should maintain exposure to private energy and publicly listed energy equities, rather than view this event as a reason to overweight energy exposure. The Paris climate agreement was nonbinding, and, by itself, did very little to […]

June 2017

The Financial Performance of Real Assets Impact Investments: Introducing the Timber, Real Estate, and Infrastructure Impact Benchmarks

Within impact investing, real assets investments constitute one of the largest opportunity sets. This report presents findings from our analysis of the financial performance of 55 private real assets impact investing funds across three sectors: timber, real estate, and infrastructure. We find that risk-adjusted market rates of return are achievable in impact investing, but note that as with conventional funds, manager selection is key to success. This report also marks the launch of the real assets impact investing financial performance benchmarks, which will track the performance of impact investing funds across the three sectors of focus and will be maintained and updated on a quarterly basis.

May 2017

Mission-Related Investing: Current Practices and Views of Non-Profit Investors

Investor approaches to mission-related investing (MRI) are as varied as the social and environmental outcomes they seek to achieve. This survey report explores trends in the structure and implementation of MRI programs, investor motivations and perceived challenges, and expectations for future growth in MRI investment activity, based on responses from 159 non-profit clients, 50 of which are actively making mission-related investments.

February 2017

The Foundation of Good Governance for Family Impact Investors: Removing Obstacles and Charting a Path to Action

Before incorporating impact investments into their portfolios, we encourage families to define the overall context for their impact investments. Our contextual framework—focused on purpose, priorities, and principles—establishes the base of impact strategy and guides the development of governance structures. These elements will help ensure that family values and decision-making processes are advantages rather than obstacles in pursuing impact investing goals and objectives

September 2016

Risks and Opportunities From the Changing Climate: Playbook for the Truly Long-Term Investor

Considering climate factors is an economic risk management and opportunity capitalization issue core to prudent investing for the long term. In this paper, we discuss the potential risks that climate change can inflict upon certain sectors and asset classes, outline corresponding strategies to defend against those risks, and review the thematic areas across public and private asset classes to proactively capitalize on the evolving opportunity set within the "resource efficiency" sector.

December 2015