Overview

The systematic integration of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into investment strategies, and investment decision making across asset classes, has been gaining traction globally.  Asset owners around the world were early adopters of sustainable investment commitments, taking leadership roles—in their capacity as fiduciaries—to advocate for the achievement of long term, sustainable, risk-adjusted returns, consistent with their fiduciary duty.

In this first annual Climate and ESG Asset Owner Summit event, scheduled to take place during Climate Week in NYC, CFA Society New York (CFANY) is dedicating a full day to the rise and status of sustainable investing among asset owners, by featuring addresses and panel discussions led and informed by asset owner representatives covering five continents. These will focus on ESG trends and developments across North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia, and Africa, and offer regional perspectives, unique challenges and opportunities, and their outlooks.

Ahead of this event, CFANY, CFA Institute and 23 other CFA societies across the world have teamed up with Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) to conduct a comprehensive 2017 global ESG integration study covering equities, bonds and sovereign debt.  The study results are expected to be published in the form of four separate reports, each covering ESG trends in the Americas, Europe and APAC, supplemented by a fourth report consisting of case studies.  Based on an initial analysis of the results, the report covering the Americas supports previous CFA Institute survey findings, showing that risk analysis and client demand are the main reasons for taking ESG integration into consideration in the investment process.  The report’s findings for the Americas will be published in advance of the ESG Asset Owner Summit, and its conclusions will be introduced and discussed at that time.

Asset Owner Organizations Speaking

1. Allianz Life Insurance General Account
2. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan
3. New York City Retirement Systems
4. Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB)
5. Nippon Life Insurance Company
6. APG Asset Management N.V.
7. Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo)
8. United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund (UNJSPF)
9. California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS)
10. California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS)
11. TIAA Insurance General Account
12. South Africa Public Investment Corporation (PIC)
13. Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA)
14. National Social Security Fund (NSSF) Uganda
15. Sovereign Fund for Strategic Investments (FONSIS) Senegal
16. Mocambique Previdente (Mozambique Provident)
17. Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF)
18. European Investment Bank (EIB)
19. Inter American Development Bank
20. World Bank
21. Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ)
22. Pension Boards – United Church of Christ (PB-UCC)
23. The Prince’s Accounting for Sustainability Project (A4S)
24. Aviva Insurance
25. European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) 
26. Environmental Defense Fund 
27. California Insurance Commissioner
28. New York State Insurance Fund (NYSIF)
29. OPTrust
30. Manulife
31. San Francisco Employees’ Retirement System (SFERS)
32. African Development Bank (AfDB)

Selected Asset Owner Organizations Attending

1. New York State Common Retirement Fund
2. Korea’s National Pension Service
3. France’s Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations
4. Chubb / ACE Insurance General Account
5. Chicago Teachers’
6. Glenmede Trust
7. Natal Joint Municipal Pension Fund
8. Tiedemann Wealth Management
9. Trinity Wall Street
10. Prosperity Life Insurance Co.
11. Kenya Power Pension Fund
12. Metlife
13. Botswana Insurance Holdings Limited
14. Merck Family Fund
15. UC Davis Foundation
16. Prudential
17. Brazil’s Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social (BNDES)

Who Should Attend

Asset owners, portfolio managers and research analysts employed at asset management firms, investment banks, hedge funds, mutual funds, and insurance companies, as well as pension plan sponsors; professionals working at potential participants on the issuance side, including corporations and private equity firms; and service providers such as attorneys, consultants, and rating agency personnel. Asset owners receive complimentary registration*

*In general, asset owners must be employed by a sovereign wealth fund, corporate pension fund, endowment, public employee pension fund, foundation, single family office with +$1 billion AUM, governmental treasury, insurance company investing division, state investment corporation, m‎ultilateral development bank‎ or other governmental fund. CFA Society New York has full discretion on who qualifies as an asset owner attendee.‎

Dress Code: No jeans allowed; business attire recommended. This event is in-house and is not being broadcasted‎ nor recorded. No media will be present and speaker or attendee attribution, in any form, is a violation of CFA Society New York’s code of conduct. Seats are limited to investment professionals only, so if you would like to attend, please request an invitation. When requesting an invitation, you will be prompted to provide your name, title, company and email address.