Breakfast

Where in the world are we? 

This session will focus on the macro-economic picture and the current state of the economic cycle. It will also answer the questions of where inflation is heading, how the U.S. election will impact markets and much more.

Speaker:

Benjamin Tal, managing director and deputy chief economist, CIBC

Shifting tides in the Canadian real estate market  

This session will explore some of the recent trends that are unfolding in commercial real estate, including the ideas stemming from changing market conditions.

Speaker:

Alexandra Katz, managing partner, head of institutional sales, Hazelview Investments

Allocations to a unique source of alpha: Opportunities in closed-end funds

In the crowded field of active management, excess return may endure the trade-off of high tracking error. In fact, ‘index hugging’ can be frowned upon and investors are drawn to returns not correlated to benchmarks — meaning managers are often taking concentrated positions, resulting in higher portfolio volatility.  A very small niche in the investment landscape offers an opportunity for both low tracking error and attractive excess return. This session will explore how closed-end funds remain a rare and inefficient market, and how investors are using that inefficiency to their advantage as part of a broader portfolio allocation.

Speaker:

Scott Eldridge, senior portfolio manager, closed-end fund strategies, Allspring Global Investments

Networking break

Predictive modelling insights on key demand drivers impacting the Canadian real estate market 

The Canadian rental landscape has long been shaped by soaring population growth, low home affordability and an entrenched lack of supply. In partnership with the John Molson School of Business at Concordia University, this session will present new research valuating the long-term impacts of these prevailing trends with regional granularity. Leveraging a variety of research methods, including predictive modelling and machine learning, the findings forecast anticipated shifts in key rental performance indicators including occupancy rates, rent prices and key demographics, revealing where hotbeds of opportunity may arise in the future.

Speaker:

Aaron Pittman, senior vice-president, head of Canadian institutional investments, Equiton

Private credit or private commercial mortgages: A path to better returns

Fixed income investments have long been a crucial component of institutional investor portfolios. Although bonds play a significant role, many investors are now seeking to enhance their portfolios with private credit exposure to boost yield, reduce volatility and diversify their holdings. Canadian value-add, higher yielding commercial mortgages present several benefits that can contribute to building a robust and stable portfolio.

Speaker:

Ken McKinnon, senior managing director, equity partner, Institutional Mortgage Capital

An overview of the Medicus Pension Plan

This session will explore the creation of the Medicus Pension Plan and examine the plan’s 2024 accomplishments. Attendees will get a look at the plan’s 2025 strategy to help more physicians save for retirement.

Speaker:

Simone Reitzes, managing director, Medicus Pension Plan

Closing lunch