Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 45.28
Liaison Cynthia Philippe
Submission Date May 12, 2021

STARS v2.2

Université du Québec à Montréal
PA-10: Sustainable Investment

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.44 / 3.00 Cynthia Philippe
Sustainability advisor
Service du développement organisationnel
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1. Positive sustainability investment

Total value of the investment pool:
48,149,561.77 US/Canadian $

Value of holdings in each of the following categories:
Value of holdings
Sustainable industries (e.g., renewable energy or sustainable forestry) 0 US/Canadian $
Businesses selected for exemplary sustainability performance (e.g., using criteria specified in a sustainable investment policy) 6,650,201.25 US/Canadian $
Sustainability investment funds (e.g., a renewable energy or impact investment fund) 0 US/Canadian $
Community development financial institutions (CDFIs) or the equivalent 0 US/Canadian $
Socially responsible mutual funds with positive screens (or the equivalent) 0 US/Canadian $
Green revolving funds funded from the endowment 0 US/Canadian $

If any of the above is greater than zero, provide:

A brief description of the companies, funds, and/or institutions referenced above:
National Bank Investments Inc. (NBI) is an investment fund firm commited to manufacturing and distributing mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, investment solutions and services to help Canadian investors pursue their financial goals, with over $69 billion in assets under management (as of March 31st 2021). NBI's open architecture structure provides many benefits. First, it allows us to select prominent global portfolio managers and to provide Canadian investors with ther added investment expertise, all while exposing them to new investment opportunities. This structure also gives us the agility to navigate the complex world of investing as we can change portfolio managers if they no longer meet our criteria for excellence in portfolio management, or if more promising professionnals are identified. Our open architecture structure relies on conducting ongoing due dilligence and ensuring full accountability. Our monitoring efforts are based on a cycle during which the organization, the people, the process, the portfolio, the performance and the integration of ESG criteria of external sub-advisors are assessed on an ongoing basis.

Our fund manager, National Bank Investment Inc. is a signatory of the UN Responsible Investment Principles (https://www.unpri.org/signatory-directory/national-bank-investments-/4157.article). They have also incorporated the UN RIP into the choice of portfolio managers (https://www.nbinvestments.ca/content/dam/bni/publication/publication-report-nbi-responsible-investment.pdf, page 4).

Percentage of the institution's investment pool in positive sustainability investments:
13.81

Part 2. Investor engagement

Sustainable investment policy 

Does the institution have a publicly available sustainable investment policy?:
No

None
A copy of the sustainable investment policy:
uqam_management_policy_investments_wrgBJsy.pdf

None
The sustainable investment policy:
We does'nt have a sustainable investment policy, but we do have a section about authorized investments in the investment policy of the foundation.

Section : 12. GUIDE RELATING TO AUTHORIZED INVESTMENTS

The manager may invest in the categories of authorized investments subject to the following quality constraints:

a) No purchase of securities will be made from companies whose income is derived mainly from tobacco, fossil fuels or weapons (see page 9 section 12 of the policy).

However, our only fund manager has produced a report on their use of ESG criteria which gives an overview of their approach (https://www.nbinvestments.ca/content/dam/bni/publication/publication-report-nbi-responsible-investment.pdf).

None
Does the institution use its sustainable investment policy to select and guide investment managers?:
No

A brief description of how the sustainable investment policy is applied:
NBI believe that the consideration of ESG factors in conjunction with traditionnal financial analysis allows for a better assissment of risks and opportunities, which leads to better investment decisions. Because we view ESG factors integration as an essential component of sound portfolio management practices, applicable to any investment philosophy or approach, we include ESG factors ingration criteria in our manager selection and monitoring processes. Our selection and monitoring of external portfolio managers are inderpinned by a proprietary research methodology. We call it the OP4+ process. It consists of more than 20 well-defined criteria for excellence in portfolio management grouped together into six key pillars : Organization, Personnel, Process, Portfolio, Performance, and ESG factors integration. As part of the OP4+ analysis, we assess, aong others, a portfolio managers process, resources and data sources with respect to ESG factors integration.

Proxy voting 

Has the institution engaged in proxy voting, either by its CIR or other committee or through the use of guidelines, to promote sustainability during the previous three years?:
Yes

None
A copy of the proxy voting guidelines or proxy record:
---

None
A brief description of how managers are adhering to proxy voting guidelines:
NBI proxy voting practices are implemented by the Strategic Portfolio Management team, which is responsible for selecting and monitoring external portfolio managers. Any portfolio manager that does not meet our expectations, or that is affected by a change to any element of the OP4+ process, is added to our watch list and subject to a complete review. Recommendations, which may include replacing a portfolio manager, are made to the Portfolio Manager Review Committee and presented to the Investment Committee for review on a quarterly basis.

Shareholder resolutions 

Has the institution filed or co-filed one or more shareholder resolutions that address sustainability or submitted one or more letters about social or environmental responsibility to a company in which it holds investments during the previous three years?:
No

Examples of how the institution has engaged with corporations in its portfolio about sustainability issues during the previous three years:
Not applicable

Divestment efforts and negative screens

Does the institution participate in a public divestment effort and/or have a publicly available investment policy with negative screens?:
Yes

A brief description of the divestment effort or negative screens and how they have been implemented:
Integration of ESG factors in the investment management process

Our fund manager, National Bank Investment Inc. is a signatory of the UN Responsible Investment Principles (https://www.unpri.org/signatory-directory/national-bank-investments-/4157.article). They have also incorporated the UN RIP into the choice of portfolio managers (https://www.nbinvestments.ca/content/dam/bni/publication/publication-report-nbi-responsible-investment.pdf, page 4).

The manager may invest in the categories of authorized investments subject to the following quality constraints:

a) No purchase of securities will be made from companies whose income is derived mainly from tobacco, fossil fuels or weapons (see page 9 section 12 of the policy).

Approximate percentage of endowment that the divestment effort and/or negative screens apply to:
100

Investor networks 

Does the institution engage in policy advocacy by participating in investor networks and/or engage in inter-organizational collaborations to share best practices?:
Yes

None
A brief description of the investor networks and/or collaborations:
NBI is a proud signatory of the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) and a member of Canada’s Responsible Investment Association (RIA).

Our fund manager, National Bank Investment Inc. is a signatory of the UN Responsible Investment Principles (https://www.unpri.org/signatory-directory/national-bank-investments-/4157.article).

Optional Fields 

Website URL where information about the institution’s sustainable investment efforts is available:
https://www.actualites.uqam.ca/2019/strategie-placement-ethique-fondation-uqam

Additional documentation to support the submission:
NBI_-_Factors_integration_policy.pdf

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
We put in PDF the NBC - Social responsability statement 2020 and the NBC - Report on the task force on Climate-related financial disclosures.


However, to provide further clarification, although there are currently no investments in companies directly related to the renewable energy sector owned in this mandate, our investment policy allows for more as needed.

The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.