������Ƶ Asset Management Corp.

Convocation 2023

Alumni

Honorary Degree

Rotman Commerce

A corporate leader with exceptional investment knowledge, David Denison has made an immense impact on something that affects every Canadian: the Canada Pension Plan.

As CEO of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) from 2005 to 2012, Denison transformed the organization’s investment strategy in a way that has contributed to Canada’s global reputation for having an innovative and effective retirement income system.

Today, for his corporate leadership in the for-profit and non-profit sectors and for his outstanding service to the ��Ƶ as co-chair of its Investment Committee, Denison will receive a Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, from the university.

Born in Gander, N.L., where his father worked as an airport meteorologist, Denison was raised in Montreal but finished high school in Toronto.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in math and a bachelor of education from U of T in the mid-1970s, then taught high school math in Toronto. After six years, he decided that teaching was not for him, completed his chartered accountant designation and embarked on a career in business.

“Part of it was a challenge to myself,” he once told Reuters. “Being a successful teacher, could I be successful in a dramatically different environment?”

Denison worked at a number of investment firms, including Merrill Lynch, in the 1980s. He moved to Fidelity Investments in 1995 and became president of the Canadian office.

Ten years later, he was named CEO of the recently formed Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. Denison told the Globe and Mail in 2012 that he had been attracted to the position by the prospect of being able to lead change. “How many times in one’s life or career do you get the chance to come into an organization … early stage, and really have the opportunity to help shape how it’s going to evolve?” he asked.

(photo by Steve Frost)

Under his watch, the pension plan’s portfolio grew from $70 billion in assets to $170 billion. At the same time, the number of employees leapt more than 10-fold – a challenging process for any manager.

Denison says his most important decisions in the early years were hiring the right staff. “If you focus on the people … the deals will take care of themselves,” he told the Globe in 2012. “And if you don’t pay enough attention to the people and the culture, you will end up with some deals you probably won’t be happy about having on your track record.”

He has applied his business knowledge to the non-profit sector as well. As chair of Bridgepoint Active Health, he led that organization in a merger with Mount Sinai Hospital to create the Sinai Health System – a move designed to provide long-term strength and stability to each group.

He has also served as co-chair of U of T’s Investment Committee for 13 years, providing guidance to the ��Ƶ Asset Management Corporation (UTAM) and the university’s administration. In this role, his advice on investment strategy has been instrumental in enabling UTAM to significantly improve the performance of the pension and endowment funds under its management without undue risk.

A reflection, perhaps, of his discipline is his commitment to running. For decades, Denison arose at 4:30 each morning to start the day with a jog – preferably outdoors. When he traveled, he would choose hotels based on how well they were situated for running. In the Globe interview, he recalled once having to forgo his outdoor run – on a trip to Sao Paulo – after hotel staff told him it wasn’t safe to run in the city in the dark.

When he retired from the pension board, he kept his daily run but pushed it back to 5:30 a.m.

Denison has held numerous corporate board positions, including at BCE and RBC, and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario. He has also served as a director for several non-profit organizations, including the Canadian Opera Company, the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation, the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute and the United Way of Greater Toronto. He holds one other honorary doctorate. In 2014, he was named an officer of the Order of Canada.

In his convocation address to graduates of Rotman Commerce, Denison urges them to avoid pressuring themselves to have a mapped-out career plan: “…approach these next few years as an important process of self-awareness and discovery about the types of work, roles, cultures and organizations that will best provide personal satisfaction and fulfilment.

“It may take several years and a detour or two before you find what you’re ideally suited for… If that proves to be the case, don’t look upon those detours as setbacks or missteps – I never once thought that way about the years I spent in teaching or public accounting.

“They’re just an essential part of your learning process and each one will give you important additional skills and perspectives that you can draw upon in the future.”

UTAM achieves divestment pledge, sets more ambitious carbon footprint reduction target for endowment

Christopher.Sorensen — Mon, 07 Nov 2022 16:01:01 +0000

UTAM achieves divestment pledge, sets more ambitious carbon footprint reduction target for endowment

Christopher.Sorensen Mon, 11/07/2022 - 11:01

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(photo by David Lee)

U of T News Team

Topic

Climate Change

Sustainability

The ��Ƶ Asset Management Corporation (UTAM) has delivered on its pledge to fully divest the university’s endowment portfolio from direct investments in fossil fuel companies within 12 months – a commitment U of T President Meric Gertler announced one year ago.

The separately incorporated investment management organization says it has also made considerable progress toward its commitment to divest by 2030 from indirect investments in fossil fuel companies, which are typically held through pooled and commingled investment vehicles. The endowment portfolio, also referred to as the Long-Term Capital Appreciation Pool, comprises the university’s endowment funds plus other investment assets and was valued at approximately $3.8 billion as of April 30.

UTAM’s progress, which builds on its success in reducing the overall carbon footprint of the endowment portfolio, is captured in the organization’s latest responsible investing report.

“In October of 2021, we pledged to divest the endowment portfolio from holdings in fossil fuel companies, to achieve net-zero carbon emissions associated with the endowment portfolio by 2050, and to allocate 10 per cent of the endowment portfolio’s assets to sustainable and low-carbon investments by 2025,” President Gertler said.

Regarding the commitment to allocate at least 10 per cent of the endowment portfolio to sustainable and low-carbon investments by 2025, UTAM is making progress and is comfortable that it will reach that target ahead of schedule.

“As global challenges imperil the worldwide effort to meet our Paris Accord obligations, the advances made by UTAM and the ��Ƶ reaffirm our own commitment to achieving those goals,” President Gertler said.

The report comes as U of T was ranked second in the world, and first in Canada, in a new sustainability ranking by London-based Quacquarelli Symonds. The ranking assessed the environmental and social impact of 700 post-secondary institutions around the world, and took into account sustainable investing strategies.

Beginning in 2023, UTAM plans to integrate its annual responsible investing update into its annual report (rather than issuing a separate report), a reflection of how deeply UTAM’s responsible investing commitment is embedded into its investment approach.

“Responsible investing is no longer novel or exceptional, but an integral part of good investment practice,” President Gertler said. “Normalizing responsible investing practices, particularly within the Canadian post-secondary education sector, has been one of UTAM’s central accomplishments.”

U of T has been a sustainable finance leader in the university sector. In partnership with McGill University, U of T led the creation of Investing to Address Climate Change: A Charter for Canadian Universities. UTAM also helped launch the University Network for Investor Engagement, facilitated by SHARE, to address climate-related portfolio risks with collective action, and was the first university-affiliated institutional investor in the world to join the United Nations-convened Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance – a group of institutional investors committed to transitioning their investment portfolios to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Carbon footprint reduction target met ahead of schedule, more ambitious target set

UTAM has reduced the carbon footprint of the equity securities component of the endowment portfolio by more than 40 per cent, meeting its reduction target almost a decade ahead of schedule.

“That success allowed us to set a new, even more ambitious carbon footprint target,” said Chuck O’Reilly, UTAM’s president and chief investment officer. “In accordance with the Alliance’s target-setting protocol, we’ve set a new carbon footprint reduction goal of 50 per cent by 2030, measured against a 2019 baseline.

“Responsible investing is an ongoing commitment, requiring continuous refinement of our investment processes. Responsible investing helps us advance the university’s sustainability goals while delivering on our mission of producing strong investment results over the long term.”

UTAM engaged audit and assurance firm PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP to review UTAM’s 2021 carbon footprint calculation; PwC’s independent limited assurance opinion is included in the 2021 Responsible Investing Report.

U of T receives Aa1 credit rating and stable outlook from Moody’s

Christopher.Sorensen — Mon, 24 Oct 2022 21:36:01 +0000

U of T receives Aa1 credit rating and stable outlook from Moody’s

Christopher.Sorensen Mon, 10/24/2022 - 17:36

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(Photo by Polina Teif)

Topic

Governing Council

Moody’s Investor Services has once again confirmed a credit rating of “Aa1” for the ��Ƶ, noting the university’s stable outlook and a credit profile that “reflects its flagship status as Canada’s largest and top-ranked post-secondary institution, and global brand recognition of its academic and research quality.”

In a recent report, Moody’s said U of T’s ongoing creditworthiness is underpinned by strong governance and prudent management that has allowed it to withstand headwinds that include inflation, rising geopolitical tensions, the COVID-19 pandemic and provincial caps on tuition fees.

Moody’s analysts said U of T’s Aa1 rating was attributable to “very strong governance and management through the development and execution of multi-year frameworks for academic and financial planning,” pointing to U of T’s decentralized style of decision-making in which faculties have significant budget accountability and must adhere to revenue and expense targets.

“Our stable fiscal outlook is a testament to the prudence and sound judgement of Governing Council and leaders of faculties and divisions across the three campuses,” said U of T President Meric Gertler.

“It also reflects our reputation as a leading research university that continues to attract the best and brightest from around the world.”

This year marks the 50^th anniversary of U of T’s unicameral governance structure, in which a Governing Council composed of 50 members – 25 drawn from within the U of T community and 25 external to the university – oversees academic, business and student affairs. The Governing Council includes boards for business and academic affairs, with the boards in turn containing committees dedicated to specific matters such as academic policy and programs; audit; and planning and budget (prior to July 1972, U of T was governed via a bicameral model comprising a senate and a board of governors, similar to other Canadian universities).

Investment assets of U of T’s endowment and short-term working capital are managed by ��Ƶ Asset Management (UTAM), a separately incorporated investment management organization established in 2000.

Moody’s said U of T also benefits from a highly respected global brand built on a reputation as Canada’s top research-intensive university and backed by consistently high performance in the most closely-watched international rankings (most recently, U of T placed among the top 20 universities in the world and second among North American public universities in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings).

U of T’s reputation helps the university attract high numbers of domestic and international students, as well as generate philanthropic support, Moody’s noted, pointing to the success of the Boundless campaign and the ambitious goals of the recently launched Defy Gravity fundraising and alumni engagement campaign. The report cited the recent $25-million gift in support of the Scarborough Academy of Medicine and Integrated Health – part of a larger $75-million gift to the region by the Orlando Corporation.

U of T's Aa1 rating from Moody's comes as the Council of Ontario Universities rolled out a new website this week highlighting the sector's commitment to financial transparency and accountability. The site includes a financial health and transparency framework plan, leading practices in university board governance and links to universities' publicly available data, including financial reporting.

Moody’s said it didn’t see any changes to U of T’s financial health on the horizon.

“The stable outlook further reflects our expectation that the university will continue to navigate the pandemic environment with minimal enduring impacts on its credit profile,” analysts said.

‘A global leader’: U of T’s sustainability efforts highlighted by Ontario Chamber of Commerce

mattimar — Tue, 09 Nov 2021 19:56:59 +0000

‘A global leader’: U of T’s sustainability efforts highlighted by Ontario Chamber of Commerce

mattimar Tue, 11/09/2021 - 14:56

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(Photo by David Lee)

Mariam Matti

Topic

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

Developing solutions to address climate change represents a huge opportunity for Ontario – and the ��Ƶ can play a key role in helping to lead the way.

That was the message delivered by David Sinton, a professor of mechanical engineering in U of T’s Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, during a recent panel discussion held in connection with the release of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce’s latest policy report on sustainability.

David Sinton

The report, which features U of T’s sustainability actions, calls U of T “a global leader in demonstrating and promoting sustainability.” It highlights the university’s many climate-oriented initiatives – from divesting from fossil fuels in its $4 billion endowment fund, to building green infrastructure and undertaking research into new clean technologies that can help Ontario industries dramatically curb emissions.

Sinton spoke about how U of T is embracing sustainability through research, operations and teaching, including the “living lab” model, and is taking steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The hope is to inspire other large public and private organizations to do the same.

For example, U of T recently announced plans to make its St. George campus climate-positive by 2050, meaning it will curb more emissions than it emits.

“In our own operations, our own facilities, we’re thinking of how we can do better. How can we reduce our emissions and serve as a living lab?” Sinton told the panel, which included representatives from the Insurance Bureau of Canada, Ontario Power Generation and Enbridge Gas.

Sinton added that he looks forward to leveraging “the intellectual power of all three campuses” – St. George, U of T Mississauga and U of T Scarborough – as U of T strives to play a leadership role in developing climate change solutions to help the world hit net-zero emissions.

To that end, Sinton is the academic lead for the U of T’s new Climate Positive Energy Initiative, which brings together 90 researchers, eight faculties and 28 divisions. The initiative draws on U of T’s wide range of expertise – including experts in science, engineering, social science, economics, business, policy and law – to overcome barriers to reaching net-zero emissions.

“Engineering and technology are important,” Sinton said. “But there are also social elements – the fit with communities, policy and developing solutions that are workable in a democracy.”

The Ontario Chamber of Commerce report argues that climate change should be addressed with solutions that it grouped into four pillars: improving predictability around climate policies; mobilizing clean energy solutions; supporting clean tech; and strengthening climate adaptation.

Ontario “has competitive advantages that it can leverage globally, including its low-carbon energy, world-class colleges and universities, talented workforce, sustainable natural resources, and cleantech sector,” the report states.

The report also highlighted the EaRTH Distric t initiative, which involves five universities and colleges across the eastern GTA and aims to bring a training and innovation hub for green technology to the U of T Scarborough campus.

Sinton noted that evidence of U of T’s focus on sustainability can be found across the university.

“Outside my office window, we’ve dug up our historic campus to install Canada’s largest urban ground source heat pump system,” he said, referring to a massive geoexchange system that’s being built on the St. George campus as part of the Landmark Project.

The geoexhange project involves drilling hundreds of geothermal boreholes some 240 metres below ground. Once completed, the boreholes will store surplus heat generated by nearby mechanical systems in the summer for use in the winter – effectively using the Earth as a thermal battery. It’s estimated the system will reduce the university’s greenhouse gas emissions by 15,000 metric tons per year.

The geoexchange system will also be used for student learning and aims to integrate clean tech technology developed by companies at the university.

One of the companies that is likely to play a part is CERT Systems, which was co-founded by Sinton and converts waste carbon dioxide into valuable commercial products.

In the financial realm, Sinton highlighted the ��Ƶ Asset Management Corporation’s (UTAM) commitment to divest from direct fossil-fuel investments in its $4 billion endowment fund over the next 12 months, and from all indirect investments – typically held in pooled or comingled funds – by 2030.

He called it “a major step.”

U of T also recently became the first university in the world to join, via UTAM, the UN-convened Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance, a group of institutional investors committed to achieving increasingly demanding targets every five years en route to net-zero emissions.

“We see a tremendous need and urgency – and opportunity – in responding to the climate crisis,” Sinton said.

U of T to divest from fossil fuel investments, create climate-positive campus

Christopher.Sorensen — Wed, 27 Oct 2021 14:11:58 +0000

U of T to divest from fossil fuel investments, create climate-positive campus

Christopher.Sorensen Wed, 10/27/2021 - 10:11

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(Photo by the ��Ƶ)

Topic

The ��Ƶ is committing to divest from investments in fossil fuel companies in its $4.0-billion endowment fund beginning immediately.

As part of a suite of sustainability measures announced by U of T President Meric Gertler today, the ��Ƶ Asset Management Corporation (UTAM) – U of T’s investment manager – will divest from all direct investments in fossil fuel companies within the next 12 months, and divest from indirect investments, typically held through pooled and commingled investment vehicles, by no later than 2030, and sooner if possible.

UTAM will also allocate 10 per cent of its endowment portfolio to sustainable and low-carbon investments by 2025, representing an initial commitment of $400 million, and is committing to achieve net zero carbon emissions associated with U of T’s endowment by no later than 2050.

U of T also became the first university in the world to join, via UTAM, the UN-Convened Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance, a group of institutional investors committed to achieving increasingly demanding targets every five years en route to net-zero emissions.

“The growing severity of the climate crisis now demands bold actions that have both substantive and symbolic impact,” President Gertler said in a letter to the U of T community.

“When a large institution like the ��Ƶ decides to take such steps, it is our belief that this will both accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy and inspire other investors to do the same.

“We hope it will also encourage government actors at home and abroad to intensify their efforts to tackle the challenge of climate change.”

U of T’s decisions to divest from fossil fuels and to commit to net zero emissions in the endowment come as world leaders prepare to meet in Glasgow for the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP26, where progress in the fight against climate change will be assessed, and new strategies to avert a climate catastrophe will be considered.

“The evidence of a climate crisis is now incontrovertible,” said President Gertler, adding that the most recent report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change adds further urgency to the need for individuals, businesses, institutions and governments to act swiftly.

To that end, U of T also announced plans to make its St. George campus climate-positive by 2050, meaning it will curb more emissions than it emits. This will be accomplished through transformation of energy and utility infrastructure, adoption of cutting-edge building design and retrofit, expansion of renewable energy generation and other measures.

President Gertler said the initiation of divestment measures was made possible, in part, by the “substantial and rapid progress” the university has made towards its original climate goals, as well as changes in the investment industry in the five years since UTAM adopted its responsible investing approach, which applies an environmental, social and governance (ESG) lens to investment decision-making.

He also acknowledged the work of the President’s Advisory Committee on Divestment from Fossil Fuels, whose report marked a key milestone in the journey towards U of T’s divestment decision, and personally thanked members of the U of T community who have urged him to take all measures necessary to tackle the “existential crisis” of climate change.

“None have been more eloquent or impassioned than our students, who have the most at stake,” he said. “I want to thank them – and other members of our community – for their activism and commitment to this important cause.”

Since the release of U of T’s 2016 White Paper Beyond Divestment: Taking Decisive Action on Climate Change, UTAM has employed an ESG framework to evaluate the climate-related risks of long-term investment portfolios in all sectors, shift investments away from high-risk holdings and urge firms to adopt sustainable practices.

The strategy has been an unqualified success. In its most recent annual report, UTAM revealed it had reduced the carbon footprint of its investment portfolios by 37 per cent compared to 2017 levels – coming very close to achieving the university’s goal of a 40 per cent carbon footprint reduction by the end of 2030.

Investments in fossil fuel companies, meanwhile, have declined steadily and, as of June 30, represent approximately 1.62 per cent of the value of UTAM’s long-term investments.

Chuck O’Reilly, UTAM’s president and chief investment officer, said divestment and net-zero carbon emissions are logical next steps.

“At UTAM, we continue to intensify our focus on responsible investing,” O’Reilly said in a statement. “Divestment from fossil fuel companies and net zero carbon emissions for the endowment are the next steps in the journey that we began in earnest in 2016, when we became a signatory to the Principles for Responsible Investment on behalf of the university’s endowment and pension portfolios.

“Responsible investing is integral to our mission, and we hope that our commitment to divestment and net zero inspires other institutional investors to support the transition to a lower-carbon economy.”

The move to divest from fossil fuels and create a climate-positive campus is just the most recent example of how U of T is playing a leadership role in the fight against climate change.

In 2020, U of T co-founded the “Investing to Address Climate Change” charter, whose signatory institutions commit to curbing the carbon footprint of their investment portfolios in transparent and measurable ways. It is a founding member of the U7+ global network of universities, which is taking steps to reduce GHG emissions on member campuses and encourage students to acquire a deeper understanding of sustainability principles and practices, and is a member of the University Climate Change Coalition, an alliance of universities in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico committed to taking tangible steps to address climate change. U of T is also a founding participant of Climate Engagement Canada (CEC), a finance-led initiative that aims to drive dialogue between the financial community and Canadian corporations to promote a just transition to a net zero economy.

Work is also underway on U of T’s three campuses to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

In 2019, U of T announced a Low-Carbon Action Plan that aims to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 37 per cent by 2030, relative to 1990 levels. In his letter, President Gertler said U of T is “taking this commitment to a new level” with its detailed, fully costed plan to achieve a climate positive St. George campus by 2050.

One of the ways U of T plans to reduce carbon emissions on its St. George campus, which comprises many heritage buildings, is through the construction of Canada’s largest urban geoexchange system under King’s College Circle. Three hundred and seventy-four geothermal boreholes have already been drilled some 240 metres below the planned parking garage underneath Front Campus – part of the Landmark Project. The boreholes will store surplus heat generated by mechanical systems in the summer for use in the winter – effectively using the Earth as a thermal battery. Once completed, the geoexchange field will help curb U of T’s greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 15,000 metric tons annually.

Efforts are also underway to implement carbon and energy budgets for new buildings and boost the use of renewable energy through projects such as a large off-campus solar farm. University engineers are also taking steps to eliminate fossil fuels as a primary energy source for heating, implement retrofits to reduce building energy needs and electrify the central power plant on the St. George campus.

As well, the university – guided by the Committee on the Environment, Climate Change, and Sustainability – continues to create pathways to involve students in the mission of sustainability. That includes initiatives such as the Living Lab curriculum, where students will be engaged in sustainability and emissions reductions projects on campus.

“Our university community hopes the discussions at COP26 in Glasgow, and at future global gatherings, will accelerate collective action against climate change,” President Gertler wrote in his letter to the university community. “We also hope they will induce governments at home and abroad to adopt ever more impactful policies and programs to speed up the transition to a low-carbon future.

“The success of our local initiatives – in how we decarbonize our investments and our own operations – will depend on such complementary actions. I very much hope that the announcements we are making today will provide further momentum to this vitally important and urgent process.”

U of T honours two “giants of civil service”

ksoobria — Thu, 22 Jul 2021 19:08:15 +0000

U of T honours two “giants of civil service” ksoobria Thu, 07/22/2021 - 15:08

When the Landmark Project is completed, the plaza in front of Convocation Hall will include granite stones that pay tribute to the contributions to the ��Ƶ of Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Sheila Brown and Senior Legal Counsel Steve Moate.

U of T celebrated the careers of Brown on June 28 and Moate on June 30 as they neared their retirement from the university. Colleagues, friends and family “gathered” by way of Zoom and presented Brown and Moate with the granite stones as a show of thanks for their decades of service.

“U of T’s staff – who I often think of as our civil service – are essential to the operation and life of our university. Sheila and Steve are two giants of this community who have made an indelible and very positive impact over the course of their brilliant careers,” said U of T President Meric Gertler.

Brown obtained a B.A. from McGill University and then joined U of T in 1973. “They put me in front of a manual typewriter and I got to work,” she said. Over the next 48 years, she built her expertise in financial administration through a series of positions throughout U of T, including executive assistant to a former Chief Financial Officer, CFO in the Faculty of Medicine and Controller and Director of Finance for the university. During this time, she also earned her MBA from U of T and served on the board of the Canadian Association of University Business Officers (CAUBO), including two terms as President.

Brown was appointed the university’s CFO in 2005 and “distinguished herself as a consummate professional who has consistently adhered to the highest standards,” said Gertler.

Among her many achievements, she was praised for playing a key role in establishing the new University Pension Plan (UPP), which launched earlier this month after years of planning. The UPP – which includes U of T, Queen’s University and the University of Guelph – is the first of its kind in Ontario's university sector.

“Sheila’s work on the UPP will come to be seen as one of her crowning achievements,” said Gertler. “You can imagine that effecting the transfer and management of our pension assets and management of member services to the UPP was an absolutely massive project. It has positioned us and our employees extremely well for the long term.”

Scott Mabury, Vice-President, Operations and Real Estate Partnerships, called Brown a “trailblazer” in the Canadian university sector, noting her innovation in using the bond market to access external financing in support of the University’s academic objectives. “That strategy enabled U of T to build much-needed physical infrastructure and it inspired other Canadian universities to do the same.”

Pierre Piché, Controller and Director, Financial Services, and one of Brown’s closest colleagues, canvassed the staff of the Financial Services Division for their thoughts. Among the tributes – “Sheila has a passion for supporting the university’s academic mission through administrative excellence.” “She leads with integrity and compassion.” “She helps us develop our own leadership skills, both internally and externally.” “You can count on Sheila to develop a culture of trust, openness and inclusion.” “She always encourages debate on various issues and takes the time to listen to points of view.” “You have been a model for a generation of women in the financial world.”

Moate attended ��Ƶ Schools, obtained his B.A. at U of T’s Trinity College and his law degree from the university’s Faculty of Law.

He was called to the Bar in 1984, and practised employment law with the firm Hicks Morley until 2001. He was appointed as its first Director of Research, and later became a partner. He joined U of T in 2002 as Employment Relations Legal Counsel and was appointed Senior Legal Counsel in the Office of the President in 2006.

“Steve has served this institution with dedication and distinction,” said Gertler. “His loyalty to U of T stems from a deeply rooted commitment to the university’s mission, a belief in the importance of what we are doing – and whom we are doing it for. This commitment is evident in everything Steve does, from expansive files like the University Pension Plan or free speech to those matters that touch on individual students and their lives. Steve’s contributions have advanced the university’s mission immeasurably.”

All speakers at the celebration attested to Moate’s ability to analyze legal matters clearly – and to do so with civility.

Said Provost Cheryl Regehr, “I have been exceptionally fortunate to have worked with one of the finest lawyers in the field in Steve Moate. His calm wisdom and strategic mind were invaluable to me.”

Long-time colleague Nora Gillespie, Senior Legal Counsel, Division of the Vice-President and Provost said, “Steve is a consummate lawyer and a truly gentle person. It has been awesome to have him as a colleague. His brilliant legal mind, unimpeachable integrity, impeccable writing and total dedication to the university and his colleagues are unparalleled.”

Kelly Hannah-Moffat praised how Moate could understand the nuances of university policy and its relevance to students, faculty, staff and librarians.

“You can cut through the complexity of any issue and define precisely and succinctly what the key elements are and what we need to address,” said Hannah-Moffat, Vice-President, People Strategy, Equity & Culture.

“Beyond this, you have brought a sense of kindness to the workplace that I greatly admire. You’ve matched your commitment to this institution with a genuine concern for those you work with. Thank you for doing everything you can to create a culture of caring at U of T.”

And how are Brown and Moate feeling as they approach a new chapter in their lives? Both are deeply thankful to the U of T community.

“The university is a wonderful place to work and have a career,” said Brown. “For administrative staff such as myself it’s endlessly fascinating because U of T is large and diverse and there is such a wide range of opportunities. U of T creates environments where you’re always finding something interesting to do. This has been a wonderful ride for me. To be part of this and to see the university change and grow and succeed, makes me feel privileged to have been part of it.”

Moate referred to his long association with U of T, from high school through his post-secondary years and much of his career. “Some might say, ‘That guy does not think far outside the box.’ I prefer to say, ‘If I have found a very good thing, I stick with it.’ This is a great university. It has the highest standards because it is comprised of people with the highest standards. It is dedicated to the pursuit of truth and knowledge and I’m excited and optimistic about its future. It’s been a great honour to have worked and studied here and to have been shaped by U of T in so many ways.”

U of T honours two “giants of civil service”

Paul Fraumeni

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Chuck O’Reilly takes over from Daren Smith as head of U of T Asset Management Corp.

rahul.kalvapalle — Tue, 29 Jun 2021 19:21:09 +0000

Chuck O’Reilly takes over from Daren Smith as head of U of T Asset Management Corp.

rahul.kalvapalle Tue, 06/29/2021 - 15:21

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Chuck O’Reilly, head of public equities at UTAM, will become president and chief investment officer of U of T’s separate specialized investment management corporation at the end of July (photo courtesy of UTAM)

Topic

Sustainability

Chuck O’Reilly will become the new president and chief investment officer of ��Ƶ Asset Management Corp. (UTAM), which manages more than $13 billion in pension, endowment and other assets on behalf of the university.

O’Reilly brings to the position a decade of experience as a senior portfolio manager at U of T’s separate specialized investment management corporation. Currently head of public equities, he will take over from President and CIO Daren Smith as Smith prepares to take on a new career opportunity overseas after nearly 13 years with UTAM.

The leadership transition is scheduled for the end of July.

“I’m fortunate to be moving into this role with a great team and best-in-class infrastructure,” said O’Reilly, who previously worked as director of the fund management group at Ontario Power Generation before joining UTAM in 2011.

“I’m excited for the opportunity to build on the successful, sustainable investment approach that Daren played such a key role in establishing, and to continue to generate great returns for the university going forward.”

Smith, who was named president and CIO in 2016, praised his successor as a talented and capable leader.

“Chuck has been a key part of our team for over a decade – and helped me build out the team – so I know I’m leaving UTAM in very good hands,” Smith said. “He has been a key contributor to making our investment processes more rigorous and systematic, and therefore more sustainable. He’s a thoughtful investor, a strong team player, a great mentor to his team and a collaborative leader.

“I’m very happy to pass the torch to Chuck and I’m confident that UTAM will continue to reach new heights under his leadership.”

Established in 2000, UTAM oversees the investment of U of T’s financial assets to generate the best possible long-term results – while adhering to all client constraints – through skilled investment management, robust risk management and taking material environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations into account. Rather than buying and selling stocks and bonds itself, UTAM uses a “manager of managers” approach by selecting investment managers to invest on its behalf.

As the incoming president and CIO, O’Reilly will oversee the transition of U of T’s pension assets to the new University Pension Plan Ontario (UPP). Set to launch July 1, the jointly sponsored UPP will serve plan members and retirees at U of T, Queen’s University and the University of Guelph – with other Ontario universities expected to join over time.

“I would like to congratulate Chuck O’Reilly as he prepares to take on this key position of leadership,” said U of T President Meric Gertler. “As a core member of UTAM for the past decade, he has played an instrumental role in growing U of T’s assets while taking decisive action to reduce the carbon footprint of its pension and endowment portfolios.

“I’m looking forward to working with him more closely as UTAM’s next president and CIO.”

President Gertler also praised Smith for his accomplishments in the role.

“Under Daren’s stewardship, UTAM has delivered excellent returns on the university’s financial assets,” President Gertler said. “At the same time, UTAM has established itself as a global leader in responsible investing, thanks to concerted efforts to integrate environmental, social and governance factors into all facets of its work.”

Richard Nunn, chair of UTAM’s board of directors, said O’Reilly has the experience and skills needed to support the transition of pension assets into UPP and chart UTAM’s future.

“It’s also a great testament to Daren’s leadership that he thought ahead to develop Chuck to be his successor,” Nunn said.

Daren Smith, who was named president and CIO in 2016, said he was especially proud of the strides UTAM has made in establishing itself as a leader in responsible investing (photo by Johnny Guatto)

With Smith at the helm, U of T’s pension and endowment portfolios each generated annualized net returns of 8.4 per cent over the past five years. Over 10 years, UTAM generated more than $525 million in added value for the two portfolios combined, according to the most recent annual report.

Smith credited UTAM’s strong returns to “the quality of people we have at UTAM and the processes that we’ve developed, refined and honed for more than a decade, as well as the time and effort that we have devoted to risk management.”

Smith said he was especially proud of the strides UTAM has made in establishing itself as a leader in responsible investing.

In early 2020, UTAM pledged to reduce the carbon footprint of the university’s pension and endowment portfolios by 40 per cent from 2017 levels by the year 2030 – a goal Smith said UTAM is now on track to achieve this year.

“I’ve already been consulting with President Gertler about resetting the target,” he said. “We’re working closely with the university on determining what the new and more ambitious goal should be going forward.”

UTAM also scored an “A+” across all categories in its most recent assessment by the United Nations-backed Principles for Responsible Investing. Last year, UTAM and U of T joined more than a dozen Canadian universities in signing the Investing to Address Climate Change charter, a landmark charter that calls on universities to tackle climate change by committing to responsible investing practices.

Smith said UTAM’s sustained progress on responsible investing has been accelerated by its decision to integrate environmental, social and governance considerations into its investment decision-making, as opposed to treating it as a separate endeavour.

“What you sometimes see at other organizations is that there’s a dedicated responsible investing team, and there isn’t always great co-ordination between that team and the investment team, who are ultimately making investment decisions,” said Smith.

“We’ve really tried to embed responsible investing across the firm starting from the top.”

In a joint statement, David Denison and Geoff Matus, co-chairs of UTAM’s investment committee, praised the work of Smith and O’Reilly and expressed confidence in UTAM’s ongoing stewardship of U of T’s financial assets.

“We have worked very closely with the management team for the past 12 years, and have been very impressed both by their investment ability and commitment to transparency in their communications and interactions with stakeholders,” the statement said. “Daren has shone as a leader throughout his time at UTAM, and we are happy for him as he moves on to a new and exciting international position. He leaves us with a very strong team, so well exemplified by Chuck, who was such an obvious choice to succeed Daren.

“Chuck has displayed an impressive depth and breadth of investing capability and has earned the respect of his colleagues, the investment committee, President Gertler and the university administration.

“We are confident that under his leadership UTAM will continue its impressive track record of investment performance while maintaining its strong commitment to ESG principles and close alignment with the goals and priorities of the university.”

U of T, other universities form coalition to strengthen engagement and reduce climate-related risks in their investment portfolios

Christopher.Sorensen — Fri, 19 Feb 2021 01:01:34 +0000

U of T, other universities form coalition to strengthen engagement and reduce climate-related risks in their investment portfolios

Christopher.Sorensen Thu, 02/18/2021 - 20:01

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(photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

Geoffrey Vendeville

Topic

The ��Ƶ is joining forces with other Canadian universities to engage with companies to address investment risks associated with climate change.

The new University Network for Investor Engagement (UNIE) coalition will engage with companies that are held in its members’ investment portfolios. Its largest founding member is the ��Ƶ Asset Management Corporation (UTAM), which manages U of T’s pension, endowment and short-term working capital portfolios, valued at around $13 billion.

The initiative will be co-ordinated by SHARE, a non-profit organization that specializes in responsible investment services, and will focus on sectors where advocacy can make the biggest impact, including finance, transportation, energy and utilities, and manufacturing.

Daren Smith, president and chief investment officer of UTAM, said the new initiative will be an important part of its overall responsible investing strategy, which integrates environmental (including climate change), social and governance factors into investment analysis and decision-making.

“It is critical that we take action to address climate risks,” Smith said. “UNIE – a program designed for Canadian universities, with input from Canadian universities – provides an opportunity for us to help mitigate the impact in our investment portfolios.”

UNIE’s other founding members include: Carleton University, Concordia University, McGill University, McMaster University, Mount Allison University, Université de Montréal Pension Plan, the University of Victoria and York University, as well as the University of St. Michael’s College at U of T.

“Universities have a vital role to play in the fight against climate change, through our teaching, our research, our operations and our investments,” said U of T President Meric Gertler.

“Through initiatives like UNIE and the Investing to Address Climate Change charter, U of T and other Canadian universities are taking concerted action that ultimately will help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect the planet.”

By banding together through initiatives such as UNIE, universities will be much more likely to influence behaviour at companies, according to Smith.

“If you’re a smaller investor or not invested in a company at all, it’s less likely they will pay attention to you,” he said. “Our engagement efforts will have a greater impact if we have more institutions and capital working together.”

UTAM’s decision to join the new climate change initiative is the latest in a series of moves to decisively address climate change. In early 2020 for example, UTAM committed to reducing the carbon footprint of its pension and endowment portfolios by 40 per cent by 2030, using 2017 levels as the benchmark.

U of T’s pension and endowment fund manager is already well on its way to achieving the objective. The pension portfolio’s year-end 2019 carbon footprint of 109.3 tonnes of CO2 equivalent per million dollars invested represents a 21.5 per cent reduction compared to 2017, according to UTAM’s most recent annual report.

UTAM is also a founding participant of Climate 100+, an investor-led initiative to engage the world’s largest corporate greenhouse gas emitters to ensure they take necessary action on climate change.

Now, by forming a coalition, universities will have another way to make their voices heard on important climate issues, said Kevin Thomas, chief executive officer at SHARE.

“These universities are showing leadership in addressing the climate crisis,” he said in a statement. “Working together in one program amplifies each institution’s voice and leverages their power to bring about change.

“The actions taken by institutional investors today will play a crucial role in determining how society fares in the face of climate change.”

With new appointments, U of T deepens commitment to sustainability goals

Christopher.Sorensen — Tue, 02 Feb 2021 21:47:33 +0000

With new appointments, U of T deepens commitment to sustainability goals

Christopher.Sorensen Tue, 02/02/2021 - 16:47

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John Robinson, U of T's first presidential adviser on the environment, climate change and sustainability, has helped lead a tri-campus effort to incorporate sustainability into every facet of campus life (photo by Daviel Lazure-Viera)

Geoffrey Vendeville

Topic

When John Robinson joined the ��Ƶ as its first presidential adviser on the environment, climate change and sustainability, he shared a vision of the campus as “living lab” where students help U of T achieve ambitious sustainability initiatives in exchange for priceless hands-on experience.

Four years later, his vision is fast becoming reality.

There is a groundswell of support among students, staff and faculty for any number of sustainability projects, ranging from an inventory of sustainability-related courses at U of T to curbing emissions related to business air travel. Robinson, meanwhile, a professor at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy and the School of the Environment, was recently asked to continue his important work after being re-appointed as presidential adviser for another three years.

U of T President Meric Gertler praised Robinson’s role in engaging students, staff, faculty and alumni in sustainability efforts across the three campuses.

“Through research, teaching and their own operations, universities have a crucial role to play in addressing climate change and other sustainability-related global issues,” President Gertler said.

“Professor Robinson has helped to integrate sustainability into U of T’s decision-making at all levels and his vision for the campus as a living laboratory has provided students with a range of opportunities to take action for a greener, more sustainable future in line with the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals.”

He added that U of T will continue to play a leading role in the fight against climate change through university networks such as the University Climate Change Coalition (UC3) and U7+ Alliance.

Creating the role of a special adviser on environment, climate change and sustainability is one of many initiatives that President Gertler set into motion following his 2016 report “Beyond Divestment: Taking Decisive Action on Climate Change.” Others include the creation of the Committee on the Environment, Climate Change, and Sustainability (CECCS) and setting a mandate for the ��Ƶ Asset Management Corp., which manages billions in assets on behalf of the university, to incorporate sustainability goals into its investment practices.

U of T’s commitment to sustainability goes as far back as the 1970s, when the university hired its first full-time energy manager. For more than a decade, the university’s three sustainability offices – one for each campus – have taken steps to reduce the university’s environmental footprint. The university operations team has cut greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 55,000 tonnes in the last 10 years, and they have put the university on a greener path by formulating the Low-Carbon Action Plan. The plan sets a goal of reducing emissions by 37 per cent by 2030, below the baseline level of 1990.

On the St. George campus, the sustainability office’s initiatives include making the Exam Centre on McCaul Street U of T’s first LEED gold-certified project. It has also supported a project that reduced energy use at Robarts Library by nearly 34,000 gigajoules per year by using occupancy sensors and a wireless thermostatic control system, among other improvements.

At U of T Scarborough, the local office supported the creation of a Bike Share program, community garden and eco-containers for takeout food. U of T Mississauga’s office, meanwhile, has taken numerous steps to conserve water by using rainwater to flush toilets in the Health Sciences Complex and irrigate the green roof of the Instruction Centre. Since 2006, the campus has required that all large academic and research capital projects are built to a minimum LEED silver standard.

Since its founding in 2017, the president’s 17-member advisory committee has worked to incorporate sustainability into every facet of campus life. With representatives from each campus, the committee comprises students, staff and faculty and oversees three subcommittees focused on furthering the transformation of campus into a living lab for green projects, positioning the university as an agent of change in the community and around the world, and fostering curricula innovation that incorporates sustainability.

The university recently announced that Ron Saporta, U of T’s chief operating officer, property services and sustainability, would take on the role of committee co-chair, recognizing more formally the academic-operational partnership needed to make further progress on reducing U of T’s carbon footprint and achieving other sustainability goals.

“It’s a really powerful message,” Robinson said of Saporta’s co-chairmanship. “We’ve been pushing for an integration of operational and academic sustainability since the beginning, and that is crucial to the institutional culture change that I think universities need to go through if they are going to take sustainability seriously.”

Saporta, for his part, said the partnership signifies “a huge opportunity.”

“We have three large campuses, a large business and operation side, but what the partnership does is allow us to leverage research and innovation more effectively to engage the student body in living lab opportunities and give them a chance to hone their skills on real-world projects,” he said.

A recent report by the committee sums up the many achievements to date – and students are at the forefront of many of the initiatives.

In Robinson’s joint undergraduate-graduate course, The U of T Campus as a Living Lab of Sustainability, students worked with university staff on a number of eco-friendly projects. One group studied the practicality of installing a biodigester – a mechanical stomach to break down waste – in residences to improve composting. Another reviewed event-planning practices on campus through a sustainability lens.

Still others proposed ways to make the environmental benefits of U of T’s massive geoexchange project below Front Campus more visible. The project, connected to U of T’s historic Landmark Project, involves the construction of Canada’s largest urban geoexchange field. Using deep boreholes, surplus heat generated by cooling equipment in the summer can be stored underground and retrieved in the winter, helping to reduce the university’s greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 15,000 metric tons per year.

The project is one element of U of T’s strategy to achieve the goals set out in its Low-Carbon Action Plan. The plan calls for cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 37 per cent from 1990 levels by the year 2030 and putting the university on a path to becoming a “net-zero” institution.

“Like many sustainability projects, the exciting part is under ground or behind a wall or in the meeting room,” Robinson said. “It’s not very visible so you don’t have a good sense of what’s going on.”

Robinson’s students partnered with U of T’s sustainability office to study the Landmark Project and educate themselves in “eco-revelatory design” and “eco-visualization” to suggest ways to highlight the project’s positive environmental impact. Perhaps, the students suggested, the university could install a lighting display at the nearby Medical Sciences building, using energy from the geoexchange? Or maybe a patch of ground could use geoexchange heat to melt patterns in the snow to grab the public’s attention?

Saporta said the sustainability office is taking the students’ recommendations to heart and is considering building a “subterranean classroom” – a mechanical space with colour-coded pipes and a glass wall where visitors could see the inner workings of the geoexchange in action.

The university’s sustainability efforts are also targeting emissions at 30,000 feet. U of T has signed off on a pilot project that will charge a fee for work-related air travel by staff in the president’s, vice-presidents’ and deans’ offices, using the money collected to support greenhouse-gas mitigation efforts on campus. While the COVID-19 pandemic brought most air travel at the university to a screeching halt, Robinson said the measure is set to be introduced as soon as travel resumes.

While addressing a global issue like climate change can be daunting, Robinson stresses that the COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated that great things can be accomplished quickly if deemed necessary – as evidenced by U of T’s effort to move thousands of courses online in the space of a few days.

“The silver lining to this very dark cloud is, it’s opened the door to forms of virtualization and it’s shown that we can make change when we need to make change,” he said.

In the future, Robinson hopes to create even more opportunities for students to be engaged in sustainability efforts on campus through the creation of academic designations that would identify students as sustainability “scholars, citizens or leaders.” Work is already underway with approval from several faculties, including the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering. The designations, on a student’s transcript or certificate, would recognize a student’s involvement in clubs, other extracurricular activities and courses on campus that have a sustainability aspect.

Some of Robinson’s students have done the unglamorous – but critical – work of combing through the thousands of courses offered at U of T to find those with sustainability content, producing a searchable inventory.

“Inventories are crucial because if you don't know what you have, you don't know what you can do,” Robinson said.

The university will also continue to offer Adams Sustainability Champion Internships, funded by Wendy Adams, along with other prizes and grants for students and faculty. “That’s been a force multiplier for us,” Robinson said about the Adams funding. “We were able to do a lot of things we wouldn’t have been able to do,” including a comparative study of sustainability efforts at other universities such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Utrecht University and Melbourne’s Monash University, among others.

In his second term, Robinson wants U of T to explore partnerships with the City of Toronto to help it work toward its climate change goals. And, in response to many students’ “eco-anxiety,” or a feeling of powerlessness in the face of the climate emergency, Robinson is thinking of creating workshops that would teach students how to become sustainability leaders after they graduate and enter the workforce.

“Wherever students end up – whether it’s a bank, consulting firm or energy company – every job has sustainability dimensions,” Robinson said.

“We think you can have a bigger impact – one that goes beyond your individual consumption – by effecting change at a large organization.”

Fighting climate change through responsible investing: U of T President Meric Gertler

rahul.kalvapalle — Thu, 03 Dec 2020 15:35:42 +0000

Fighting climate change through responsible investing: U of T President Meric Gertler

rahul.kalvapalle Thu, 12/03/2020 - 10:35

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In a virtual discussion this week, President Meric Gertler said U of T's asset manager has made considerable progress towards its goal of reducing the carbon footprint of its investment portfolios by at least 40 per cent by 2030 (photo by Lisa Sakulensky)

Topic

Climate Change