News Release
Thursday, November 20, 2008
For immediate release
Socially responsible investment industry
welcomes recommendation to create pension disclosure
on social and environmental issues
The Social Investment Organization supports the recommendation of the Ontario Expert Commission on Pensions to create disclosure on pension plans' policies regarding socially responsible investment.
"We believe this is an important step to create transparency on socially responsible investment by pensions, and to encourage pension trustees to come to grips with long-term social and environmental investment issues," said Eugene Ellmen, Executive Director of the Social Investment Organization.
The Ontario Expert Commission on Pensions, chaired by Harry Arthurs, former President of York University, released its report today after two years of consultation and consideration of pension issues in Ontario. The Commission was appointed by the Ontario government in November 2006.
Among the list of recommendations, the Commission calls for pension plans in Ontario to create governance, funding and investment policies every three years, and more often if material changes are made to these policies. The Commission recommends that these policies be filed with the regulator, and be made available to active and retired members of each pension plan.
Noting that plan members and trustees have increasingly asked for information on the socially responsible investment of plan assets, the Commission recommends that "plan statements of investment policy should reveal whether, and if so, how, socially responsible investment practices are reflected in the plan's approach to investment decisions."
"The recommendation would bring Ontario law up-to-date with many other jurisdictions in the world, including the UK, France, Germany, Belgium and Sweden," Ellmen said. "We encourage the Ontario government to move on this recommendation."
However, Ellmen did express disappointment that the Commission did not also recommend mandatory disclosure of the proxy voting policies of pensions, and their annual votes on shareholder resolutions at corporate annual meetings.
"How pension plans vote their shares is an essential aspect of how they manage their assets over the long term," Ellmen said. "Plan beneficiaries and the investing public need to know how pensions are voting their shares to create an atmosphere of openness and engagement on critical environmental and social issues. We will press the Ontario government for regulations to require this disclosure."
The Social Investment Organization is the national association for socially responsible investment in Canada. Its members include about 40 investment funds, financial institutions, investment consultants, asset managers, credit unions, and institutional investors, as well as more than 100 investment advisors across Canada. SIO's members serve more than a million Canadian depositors and investors.
For more information:
Eugene Ellmen, Executive Director
Social Investment Organization
416-461-6042 ext. 111