CEO Weighs Climate Risk

Florida’s elected chief financial officer, Alex Sink, said the state is expected to become the first in the nation to formally analyze investments for the financial impacts of climate change. 

In an effort to better protect the state Treasury’s portfolio from emerging risks, Sink has launched a semiannual review process to assess how public fund managers incorporate climate-change risk in portfolio holdings as part of prudent investment management.

Sink said her office has hired RiskMetrics Group to analyze the corporate bond holdings of 20 external fund managers and one internal fund manager. Corporate bonds represent approximately $3.4 billion of Florida’s $24 billion in Treasury funds. 

“Climate risks are converging not only on our state, but also on the investments we manage on behalf of our citizens,” Sink said in a statement. “As Florida’s chief financial officer, I’m constantly looking for new tools to identify emerging financial risks to better protect taxpayer dollars in the Florida Treasury.”

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