Pension Boards introduces new Sustainable Balanced Fund

The Pension Boards-United Church of Christ now offers a “best-in-class” Sustainable Balanced Fund as one of the investment options for accumulation (non-annuitized) members of the Annuity Plan. 

“The Pension Boards has long been committed toward sustainability in all our Annuity Plan investments, while at the same time achieving the best possible returns for our members,” said Brian Bodager, Pension Boards president/CEO. “We refer to this as the ‘double bottom line’ of ‘doing good for creation and doing well for our members.’ 

Sustainable funds are those that use environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) criteria to evaluate investments or assess their societal impact. They may pursue a sustainability-related theme or aim to create measurable social impact.

Sustainable investing also has a values-driven component: The idea that integrating ESG into an investment process can add valuable material information that might otherwise be overlooked in traditional financial analysis and may be able to help reduce risk or generate a higher return.

“The Sustainable Balanced Fund represents an enhancement of our traditional Balanced Fund offering, with an asset allocation that mirrors the current Balanced Fund’s allocations,” said Dave Klassen, Pension Boards chief investment officer. “We selected five leading managers in sustainability and climate solutions, with historically compelling returns. The market for sustainable balanced funds represents a very small piece of the broader balanced fund universe, accounting for a small percentage of available balanced funds in the retirement market. Our Sustainable Balanced Fund positions the Pension Boards as a leader on our members’ behalf in this investment arena, with a best-in-class fund option that aligns with our values as a ministry of the United Church of Christ.”

Current Balanced Fund members will remain invested in the enhanced, newly-branded Sustainable Balanced Fund, unless the member selects to reallocate to another Annuity Plan investment fund option. The Sustainable Balanced Fund will be open for reallocation on February 1. 

For more information, see Sustainable Balanced Fund Frequently Asked Questions.