Bloomberg said it’s the first U.S.-domiciled corporate retirement plan sponsor (ERISA plan sponsor) to join the “Principles for Responsible Investment,” a United Nations initiative.
The announcement was made at the Bloomberg Sustainable Business Summit. By joining, Bloomberg will incorporate the U.N’s six, voluntary Principles for Responsible Investment into its investment practices.
There are currently a total of 1,823 global signatories to the principles. Sixty-eight other signatories are also categorized as corporate pension or retirement providers. These are either based in Europe, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Japan, Mexico or South Africa. As a signatory, Bloomberg will submit a yearly transparency report to PRI outlining its approach to integrating ESG factors.
“The principles align closely with Bloomberg’s commitment as a financial data provider to integrate sustainable business and finance considerations into its operations, products and services.”
Bloomberg reviewed opportunities to integrate environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations into the company’s global retirement plans. This included adding an ESG-themed equity fund to its U.S. 401k plan options and updating the plan’s Investment Policy Statement to integrate ESG considerations into plan management and monitoring decisions.
“Bloomberg is committed to providing data and insights on ESG issues for its clients,” Dom Maida, Global Head of Global Data at Bloomberg L.P. and Chairman of Bloomberg’s Investment Committee, said in a statement. “This content is available on the Bloomberg Terminal. Research shows that firms who manage these issues well, often provide better long-term returns. Our employees are long-term investors, and giving them the choice to take ESG criteria into consideration in their retirement planning strategy was a logical next step.”
“This is really exciting – not many companies offer ESG-themed funds, as of yet, to their employees through their corporate retirement plans,” added Cathy Bolz, Head of Global Benefits at Bloomberg L.P. “By signing we are saying that we think the investment world has matured to the point where organizations like ours can think about integrating ESG issues into their investment policy considerations. The PRI is a great platform for sharing best practices with other companies.”
With more than 20 years serving financial markets, John Sullivan is the former editor-in-chief of Investment Advisor magazine and retirement editor of ThinkAdvisor.com. Sullivan is also the former editor of Boomer Market Advisor and Bank Advisor magazines, and has a background in the insurance and investment industries in addition to his journalism roots.
