Key Takeaways
- • The Massachusetts Pension Reserves Investment Management Board (MassPRIM), which oversees a $105 billion fund for public employees and teachers, has put its active managers "on notice" over their approach to the climate transition.
- • MassPRIM will integrate a climate transition test into future manager selection, according to Responsible Investor.
- • The fund identified a "spectrum" of approaches among its managers after assessing their climate transition practices.
- • The review extends to managers' deforestation and climate transition engagement as part of the fund's broader climate risk program.
- • The Sierra Club publicly welcomed the review and urged accountability in manager selection.
Summary
Massachusetts Pension Reserves Investment Management Board (MassPRIM) has placed its active investment managers "on notice" over their approach to the climate transition, according to Responsible Investor. The $105 billion fund, which manages retirement assets for Massachusetts public employees and teachers, will integrate a climate transition test into manager selection going forward. The move follows an assessment that identified a "spectrum" of approaches across the manager roster.
Publisher materials indicate the review also covers managers' deforestation and climate transition engagement activities. MassPRIM's stated priorities include analyzing climate risks and opportunities across the portfolio and engaging both managers and portfolio companies on climate transition planning. Findings from the review are expected to inform manager-quality evaluations and selection decisions, the fund has said.
The Sierra Club welcomed the MassPRIM climate-risk review and called for accountability in manager selection. The initiative sits alongside broader debate among public pension managers over U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission climate disclosure rules, which pension managers have urged the SEC not to scrap on the grounds that such disclosures help investors assess climate risks that could affect returns.
The primary source available for this story is limited to a summary and a registration prompt, so the specific criteria of the climate transition test and the individual managers assessed are not detailed here.
Publisher materials indicate the review also covers managers' deforestation and climate transition engagement activities. MassPRIM's stated priorities include analyzing climate risks and opportunities across the portfolio and engaging both managers and portfolio companies on climate transition planning. Findings from the review are expected to inform manager-quality evaluations and selection decisions, the fund has said.
The Sierra Club welcomed the MassPRIM climate-risk review and called for accountability in manager selection. The initiative sits alongside broader debate among public pension managers over U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission climate disclosure rules, which pension managers have urged the SEC not to scrap on the grounds that such disclosures help investors assess climate risks that could affect returns.
The primary source available for this story is limited to a summary and a registration prompt, so the specific criteria of the climate transition test and the individual managers assessed are not detailed here.
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