We are hosting a webinar on Responsible Investing (RI) for individuals .. limited attendance, so reserve your spot now ! Congregations can be responsible investors by opening a fund with ELFEC, but individuals can’t. Many people tell us that they are frustrated by the lack of good answers when they ask their financial advisor how to incorporate environmental or social concerns into their portfolio. So we are hosting a webinar that addresses the question “How can an individual be a Responsible Investor?” If you want to tune in and learn about this subject, register by sending Krista an email to kkuehnbaum@elfec.ca and check out more details at https://elfec.ca/upcoming-webinar-how-responsibly-invest-individual .Read more
Latest News
Posted: September 13, 2017
Join Jeff Pym, ELFEC's executive director, as he discusses how to make a gift to the church that is right for you. Additional videos about planning your gift to the church are availabe in the resource materials .Read more
Posted: August 2, 2017
This month, ELFEC has written to Cineplex to seek expanded disclosure of the company’s workforce policies and practices. The letter is as part of a shareholder engagement with the company on decent work led by SHARE . Companies that pay living wages, provide secure jobs, encourage training opportunities and support diversity are better long-term investments. Disclosure helps investors understand how companies are approaching these decent work issues.Read more
Posted: July 13, 2017
Q2 2017 saw engagement with 5 companies held within our portfolio. Themes discussed included addressing the financing of climate risk with Royal Bank, Bank of Nova Scotia and Toronto-Dominion Bank, respecting international human rights with Agrium Inc. and business & reconciliation with Toronto-Dominion Bank. A full report by company is available here .Read more
Posted: July 5, 2017
We are one of the 79 investors worth over $7.8 trillion supporting @ShareActionUK’s Workforce Disclosure Initiative: http://share.ca/canadian-investors-among-7-9-trillion-coalition-pushing-companies-for-disclosure-on-global-workforces/Read more
Posted: May 10, 2017
Over the past few months ELFEC has been moving money into impact investments. These are defined as investments "made into companies, organizations, and funds with the intention to generate a measurable, beneficial social or environmental impact alongside a financial return". After commissioning a study by an independent consulting group, the ELFEC board approved the investment of a total of $1 million, or about 3% of our total portfolio, in four organizations. All four investments will generate a financial return that compares favourably to our fixed income investments in financial markets. Two of these investments have been placed, while the other two are still in process. Read more in our latest edition of ELFEC News .Read more
Posted: April 30, 2017
Making your legacy for tomorrow, count today!Read more
Posted: April 30, 2017
Q1 2017 saw engagement with 10 companies held within our portfolio. Themes discussed included addressing the financing of climate risk with Royal Bank of Canada, Bank of Nova Scotia and Toronto-Dominion Bank, voting on Executive Compensation with H&R REIT, and measuring climate risk with Smart REIT. A full report by company is available here .Read more
Posted: March 27, 2017
For Canadian Lutherans 2017 is a very big year. We’re all aware that this is the 150 th anniversary of Confederation and the 500 th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. But did you know that it is also the 20 th anniversary of Lutheran Planned Giving? Read more !Read more
Posted: February 1, 2017
ELFEC’s Board of Directors are pleased to share a few strategic changes to our investment portfolio to better our fulfill our mandate as Responsible Investors. Recent changes included: Exiting our holdings in the Montrusco Bolton Canadian Equity Income Pooled Fund. Purchasing individual stocks modelled on the Equity Income Strategy. Selling bonds issued by two companies involved in tar sands oil production. Selling shares in oil and gas companies involved in the Exploration and Production (E&P) sub-sector. Re-investing capital by purchasing shares in a renewable energy company. As well as, purchasing shares in several Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs). Our rationale: ELFEC made a commitment in 2016 to move away from investments in fossil fuel production and increase investment in renewable energy. The equity income strategy offers the potential of more predictable dividend income and protection against market swings. We wanted to take on more exposure to the real estate sector as an alternative to fixed income securities (bonds), thereby reducing sensitivity to interest rate changes. All of our investment policy decisions are made with one eye on financial results and the other eye on the social and environmental impacts of what we do.Read more