Canada’s largest pension fund is willing to divest assets in companies that don’t take environmental, social and governance issues seriously, CEO John Graham said during a panel at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Singapore. (Bloomberg)

Talking point: CPP Investments, which manages more than $500 billion in assets on behalf of about 21 million Canadians, has maintained in the past that “blanket divestment” is not part of its net-zero strategy. Rather, it’s said it can influence companies’ environmental and social records by holding their assets and pressuring them to improve. The fund this year updated its proxy voting guidelines, requiring all companies in which it invests to have climate-related risk disclosure and mitigation plans. It also recommended that “directors who contribute to material ESG failures should be asked to resign promptly.” Despite recent backlash to assets labelled ESG, Graham said the category holds some of the best opportunities in the next 10 years.