Over 40 percent of Thames Water, a troubled utility company in the United Kingdom, is owned by OMERS and BCI. These are two of Canada’s biggest public pension fund managers. The British utility is facing regulatory scrutiny and penalties for sewage leaks that require a financial bailout. Investors refused a request by Thames for more than £3 billion ($5.2 billion).
Ontario’s OMERS has written down its Thames investment to zero. Presumably, British Columbia’s BCI has done the same.
Thames Water, England’s biggest water company and the steward of its most famous river, is on the verge of financial disaster. The utility’s parent company, controlled by an array of sovereign wealth and pension funds, defaulted on its debt in April. Investors worry more of its roughly £18 billion in overall debt, equivalent to around $23 billion, could be at risk of losses even though much is meant to be secured against the water company’s assets.
What was meant to be a supersafe investment in a business that has a natural monopoly, has turned into a financial debacle, pushed further into crisis by the increase in interest rates. Thames Water’s troubles have cast a shadow over infrastructure investment, an area fashionable among risk-averse, long-term investors.
Environmental critics say Thames Water loaded up on debt to pay investors dividends while failing to upgrade London’s sewer system, which has spilled the equivalent of at least 34,000 Olympic swimming pools of raw sewage into the river since 2020.
ESG investing means placing money in companies that score highly on environmental and societal responsibility metrics.
Not all fund managers take ESG seriously. They may value profits more than environmental protection. Salaries and bonuses depend on financial performance. Damage to people and property in far-off places may be just an unfortunate side effect.
ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) investing refers to how companies score on these responsibility metrics and standards for potential investments. Environmental criteria gauge how a company safeguards the environment. Social criteria examine how it manages relationships with employees, suppliers, customers, and communities. Governance measures a company’s leadership, executive pay, audits, internal controls, and shareholder rights.
Categories: BC Investment
in-sights.ca 
Pension fund managers have about as much ethical business dealings as one Mr. Trump. They are manipulators of cash and do not create wealth.
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We have a 4B north shore plant and a 12B Iona YVR plant to worry about.?
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Oh, yeah, i forgot…Calgary. No contingency for infrastructure, no resilience, no redundant capacity and the Stampede on the near horizon. Or Paris, poo in another river, monstrous boondoggle swimming in poo. “Civilization” is bass-ackwards, and it’s becoming obvious enough that perhaps even the shareholding class might want to sit up and take notice. But, no, I’m a pensioner and I get no say, and those who manage the pension plans are the same short-termers to be found on Howe Street, Bay Street, The City, the CAC 40 and all other seats of financial chicanery.
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Wouldn’t be at all surprised if an incoming Conservative government weren’t keen to point us in the same direction as their Tory counterparts in the UK. Sad days, particularly given that the Libs haven’t clearly signalled a desire to keep services in the commons.
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