Tausi Insider

Boards of directors and their compensation committees have long rewarded executives for financial achievements. Now, companies that do not include ESG goals in performance-based incentives could soon find themselves taking heat from investors. Getty Images/iStockphoto A majority of Canada’s biggest public companies, including its largest emitters, now tie some portion of executive pay to achieving environmental, social and governance targets, but some industries are embracing the practice more than others, a study by the law firm Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP has found. The survey revealed that 68 per cent of companies in the S&P/TSX 60 Index of large corporations offer chief executives and other top brass incentives at least partly based on meeting ESG objectives. Some of those companies are also among 40 high emitters chosen by the institutional investors group Climate Engagement Canada (CEC) as targets to push for tougher emission-reduction goals. Of that list, four-fifths lin...

Almost US$125-billion worth of assets, from performance losses left the hedge fund industry in 2022, Hedge Fund Research (HFR) data showed on Friday in the latest sign of the havoc that volatility wreaked on the industry last year. Investors rethought putting their money into hedge funds, leading to a net outflow of US$55-billion in assets, making it the largest capital flight from the industry since 2016, HFR said. A sharp change from 2021, when the industry saw a positive US$15-billion of net inflows. High inflation, aggressive central bank interest rate-hikes and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine roiled world markets last year, with investors across asset classes having to navigate a level of volatility not seen in years. Investors took US$40.4-billion out of hedge funds that buy and sell stocks, which is also the strategy that posted the worst performance numbers, losing US$112.5-billion. Despite the combined strong performance of funds which trade on macro-economic indicators, instit...