RIA Newsletter
February 2018

RIA News
2018 RIA Conference












Early bird registration for the 2018 RIA Conference is now open. The conference will take place on June 4th and 5th at the Hyatt Regency Toronto.  Follow the link below to register and book your hotel now! Speaker announcements are coming soon. 
RIA Board: Call for Nominees

The RIA will have three vacancies on its Board of Directors in 2018. One seat must be filled as soon as possible, and the other two seats must be filled by June 5th, 2018. 

Applicants must be a member of the RIA for at least one year prior to the Annual General Meeting, which takes place on June 5th, 2018 in Toronto. Follow the link below to learn more.
In This Issue
Upcoming RI Events

RBC Investing for Change
March 8, Toronto

CEGN Conference
May 15-17, Banff

June 4-5, Toronto 
RI Job Postings

BMO

Marketing & Business Development Associate
Purpose Capital

Principle, Sustainable Investing
CPPIB

Analyst / Associate (Governance)
CPPIB

Intern, Responsible Investment (Private Markets)
PSP Investments

Intern, Responsible Investment (Public Markets)
PSP Investments
New RIA Members

We are pleased to welcome the following new RIA Members:
View the full RIA Member list here .  
Canada's Newest Recipients of RI Certification

Congratulations to Canada's newest recipients of the RIA's financial designations in recognition of expertise in responsible investing:
 
Brian Kettles (RIS), BJK Financial Group
Paolo Trentalance (RIS), Vancity
Dan Rudisuela (RIAC), RBC Dominion Securities Inc.
An-Lap Vo-Dignard (RIS), National Bank Financial
RI Industry News
FSI announces 2018 winners of Best Sustainability Report awards
Jury teams paid particular attention to information contained in the reports that is material and decision-useful to investors.    More
RBC issues Climate Change Position and Disclosure Statement
The statement addresses how RBC is identifying and managing risks and opportunities that arise with the transition to a low carbon economy.   More
Scotiabank to acquire RIA Member Jarislowsky Fraser
The agreement will enhance Scotiabank's institutional investment capabilities and creates the 3rd largest asset manager in Canada.    More
BlackRock asks companies to explain dearth of women on boards
The firm is asking companies with fewer than two female directors asking them to justify this and report on efforts to increase diversity.    More
RI Products & Services
AGF launches the AGFiQ Enhanced Global ESG Factors ETF and AGFiQ Enhanced Global Infrastructure ETF
Through its AFGiQ investment platform, AGF launched two new cost effective ETFs to give investors access to the areas of ESG and infrastructure.    More
ISS announces launch of E&S QualityScore corporate profiling solution
E&S QualityScore measures the quality of corporate disclosures on environmental and social issues, including sustainability and governance.    More
AlphaFixe launches its first Green Bond Fund
The Fund, investing in global green bonds, looks to finance climate change and adaptation projects.  The Fund launched in November 2017.    More
Carbon Tracker unveils 2˚C compliant scenario analysis tool
Bloomberg terminal subscribers can now access Carbon Tracker analysis of the impact of climate change on a company's exposure to carbon transition risk.   More
VERGE Capital and SVX launch VERGE Breakthrough Fund
The impact fund focusses on social enterprise and impactful community ventures in Southwestern Ontario.   More
ESG News

How and where diversity drives financial performance
A recent survey of more than 1,700 companies shows a positive and significant relationship between diversity and performance.    More
Snap chief earns third-highest CEO payout ever
Chief Executive Evan Spiegel received $637.8 million as a total compensation last year after the company went public.    More
ExxonMobil releases 2018 Energy and Carbon Summary report
The report is a step in the right direction in trying to provide investors with decision-useful information on the companies approach to climate risks.     More
Microcredit can help poor countries after natural disasters
VisionFund and Global Parametrics launched the world's largest non-governmental climate-insurance programme.    More
Wind farms make up all EU's net power growth
Wind power is now Europe's second largest source of electricity, behind gas-fired power plants.  Last year it made up a fifth of all installed electric capacity.     More
Loblaw bread scandal hits bottom line
Loblaws books a $107 million charge as it contends with fallout from last year's stunning bread price-fixing admission.   More
Research & Analysis
FAIRR: Plant-based Proteins 
The report outlines drivers of demand for sustainable protein, and how investors and companies are responding to risks and opportunities.   More
Climate Bonds Initiative:  Green bond pricing in the primary markets
The report covers USD15.4bn, slightly over half of the combined face value of labelled green bonds issued in the third quarter of 2017.     More
As You Sow and Corporate Knights: Carbon Clean 200
The fourth update to the Carbon Clean 200 lists the largest 200 publicly traded companies making significant revenues from clean energy.   More
Boston Common: Banking on a low carbon future
The analysis of 59 banks found some progress in the banking sector's response to climate change as well as some urgent shortcomings.    More
Morgan Stanley: List of 30 stocks that create positive impact
The list of 30 stocks in their view "offer a strong fundamental investment case at the same time as creating a positive social or environmental impact".   More
Sarona: Expanding Institutional Investment into Emerging Markets via Currency Risk Mitigation
The report reveals approaches to help mitigate the unique currency risks arising for private equity investors and fund managers in emerging markets.   More
Policy & Legal News

EU HLEG releases final report
The report makes a series of recommendations to improve the European financial system's contribution to sustainable and inclusive growth.    More

Gender equality at the heart of Budget 2018
The federal government intends to implement several measures to increase gender diversity, which "leads to more growth."   More
Viewpoints
Christie Stephenson:  How women and millennials will redefine ethical investing
As wealth transfers to women and millennials, there is increased demand for corporations to examine their social purpose and responsibility.     More
CECP: The Strategic Investor Initiative's Letter to CEOs
The letter is a call to re-orient our capital markets to the long-term and to meet the informational needs of long-term investors.    More
Marga Hoek: Why mobilizing private capital towards the SDGs is good for business
In order to achieve the SDGs there needs to be innovative capital mobilization. Hoek describes why private capital is needed for global development and also highlights the tremendous business opportunities.    More
Ceres: The Missing Link - Connecting Procurement with Sustainability
Many companies are setting goals to source key commodities sustainably.  To be successful, these commitments need to be backed by directives or incentive for internal procurement teams.    More
Submissions

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