There’s been a focus this year on the amount of risk pension plan sponsors are holding in their portfolio and how to manage that risk. Is it time to de-risk or re-risk?
Strategies around both, in addition to investing in alternatives specifically, have been hot issues this year.
Here is a recap of the top five investment-related stories on BenefitsCanada.com in 2012.
Why OMERS is changing gears
In recent years, many pension plans have looked to private investments to mitigate some of the risk of public markets. For OMERS, this shift began in 2004. At the time, the fund—which has pension commitments to more than 400,000 members in Ontario—had an investment mix of 82% public market and 18% private investment holdings. But a new strategy adopted that February started OMERS on the road toward an asset mix goal of 53% public markets and 47% private holdings…read more.
Safety dance: 2012 Top 40 Money Managers Report
One step forward, two steps back. That phrase seems to sum up 2011 for Canada’s Top 40 money managers. On the DB side, plan sponsors enjoyed improved returns but remain shackled as historic lows in interest rates exacerbate deficits. In the DC space, the federal government threw money managers a very juicy bone in the form of the pooled registered pension plan (PRPP). But what could be a huge potential boon for managers now hangs in the balance, as Quebec buys in while Ontario raises questions and considers a different route…read more.
Six questions to ask your investment consultant (Part 1 and 2)
Institutional investors often hire consultants to provide expertise in writing requests for proposals (RFPs) for services required by the institution, as well as to access consultants’ knowledge of investment managers, recordkeepers, custodians and actuarial service providers…read more.
Top 40 Money Managers: At your service
There was a time when performance drove manager selection. But that was more than a decade ago, when most pension plans held a mix of bonds and equities, perhaps some real estate and very little else. Then it all blew up. What worked in the 1990s probably doesn’t work now…read more.
Pensions plunge into real estate
ith equity market volatility persisting and bond yields at depressingly (and historically) low levels, Canadian pension funds have been seeking sources of stable return. One of the asset categories they have been turning to is direct real estate. On average, Canadian pension plans have allocated almost 8% to real estate assets, though this masks differences in allocation due to size and type of plan….read more.