Temasek tops 200 sovereign and pension funds in governance, sustainability and resilience practices
Yong Hui Ting
TEMASEK Holdings has emerged top of the leaderboard on a governance, sustainability and resilience (GSR) scoreboard published by Global SWF, a data platform focused on pension and sovereign funds.
It joined four other global investors at the top, all of whom scored full marks based on the GSR scoreboard. Temasek had the most assets under management among the four, at US$298 billion.
Coming in second was CDPQ, one of the largest pension funds in Canada, followed by New Zealand’s sovereign wealth fund NZ Super, and the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority, which manages Nigeria’s sovereign wealth fund.
Asian investors’ average score based on the GSR metrics rose to 55 per cent this year, from 47 per cent in 2020.
Global SWF said the change was more noticeable in the governance aspect, where some funds had become more transparent and engaging. Some funds tracked by the company also showed improvement in the sustainability aspect, having published their first annual environmental, social and governance reports.
Regionally, Thailand’s Government Pension Fund was a close second behind Temasek’s perfect grade, with a 96 per cent on the GSR scorecard. Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund came in third, tying with the Korea Investment Corporation and National Pension Service of South Korea; all three received a 92 per cent score.
Global SWF said it has observed a significant increase in GSR scores across the board since its launch in 2020. The improvement is most apparent among sovereign wealth funds, which are catching up quickly with pension funds. It added that there has also been an improvement around sustainability, as funds intensify their impact activities and reporting, it added.
“We expect the scores to keep increasing in the years to come, as funds mature and recognise the importance of aligning with best practices around governance, sustainability, and resilience,” Global SWF said.
The scorecard is published annually by Global SWF as a market reference for the GSR efforts undertaken by state-owned investors. It surveys the world’s top 100 sovereign wealth funds and 100 public pension funds. The scores derived are based on 10 governance elements, 10 sustainability elements and five resilience-related indicators.
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