CIR news

Latest news in Research & Markets

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Group of financial players seek to start new securities exchange

A group of retail broker-dealers, banks, financial services firms, and global market makers is gearing up to submit its application with the U.S. Securities and Exchange…

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BoC holds steady on overnight rate target

The Bank of Canada announced Wednesday it is holding its target for the overnight rate steady at 1.75 per cent. This comes after it also…

  • By: Staff
  • January 10, 2019 January 12, 2021
  • 14:37
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Sustainalytics acquiring European institutional investor engagement firm

Sustainalytics, a research, ratings and analytics firm focusing on environmental, social and governance issues, is acquiring GES International, a provider of engagement, screening and fiduciary voting…

  • By: Staff
  • January 9, 2019 January 12, 2021
  • 15:45
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Fitch Ratings introduces new scoring system on ESG and credit ratings 

Fitch Ratings Inc. is launching a new scoring system to show how environmental, social and governance factors affect individual credit rating decisions. Fitch is rolling…

  • By: Staff
  • January 9, 2019 January 12, 2021
  • 11:10
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As institutional investors intend to reduce public stocks, where are they looking?

With concerns the business cycle is about to turn, more than half of institutional investors are reporting the intention to reduce their allocations to equities, according to a…

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Is index investing truly passive?

In a recent working paper, University of Toronto assistant professor Adriana Robertson takes a deep dive into the world of index investing and argues that…

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Given sharp dips in oil, is it a buy for Canadian pension plans?

Crude oil suffered a major sell-off in November, the steepest decline the commodity has seen in over a decade. As 2019 gets started, how should…

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Four investment themes for a turbulent 2019

Looking ahead to the new year, 2019 is shaping up to be another challenging one for institutional investors looking for strategies to generate sufficient returns to meet their…

  • December 27, 2018 January 12, 2021
  • 08:00
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Institutional investors and the UN Sustainable Development Goals

\MSCI Inc. and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development have collaborated on a joint research paper to facilitate discussions about how institutional investors can implement the…

  • By: Staff
  • December 24, 2018 January 12, 2021
  • 10:31

As Brexit draws closer, what’s noise and what’s not for institutional investors?

The drama in recent weeks surrounding the outcome of Brexit has proved Shakespearian, but on this side of the pond, should institutional investors be bracing themselves? “We’ve…

Opportunities for institutional investors in an aging society

Opportunities for institutional investors in an aging society

While an increasingly aging society will certainly affect the future of retirement savings and health care in Canada, this growing demographic shift may also offer…

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Federal Reserve raises key interest rate, but dials back expectations

Yesterday, the Federal Reserve announced it will raise the target range for the federal funds rate by a quarter point and dialed back its expected…

  • By: Staff
  • December 20, 2018 January 12, 2021
  • 09:27
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China, interest rates top issues for equity investors in 2019

For pension plan sponsors interested in equities, the top two issues on the radar for 2019 are China-U.S. trade tensions and interest rate movements, says…

Most Canadian institutional investors engaging in ESG issues: survey

The vast majority (91 per cent) of Canadian institutional investors have adjusted their voting and engagement policies to focus more on environmental, social and governance…

  • By: Staff
  • December 19, 2018 January 12, 2021
  • 09:00
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ESG: Valuing the intangibles

Share price dispersion remains prevalent in equity markets, but today’s active managers are having difficulty extracting alpha. They may not be looking in the right…

Pension wealth continues to increase, Statistics Canada

Pension wealth grew 6.8 per cent in nominal terms in 2017, to approximately $3.8 trillion by the end of the year, said Statistics Canada’s 2017…

  • By: Staff
  • December 17, 2018 January 12, 2021
  • 11:09
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Using an ‘active investing triad’ for outperforming pension returns

While active managers outperform in some situations and not in others, when using active management, what characteristics can pension plans look for to stay on…

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When is a delegated service model right for a pension plan?

In an increasingly challenging investment and regulatory environment, many pension plans are looking to a new model, delegating key investment management and service activities to…

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Economist doesn’t think recession is looming

In a world of volatility, with markets driven by trade wars, Trump tweets and talk of a potential recession on its way, Scotiabank vice-president and…

OMERS invests in Australian offices, PSP sells animal tech company

The Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System’s real estate arm is investing $3.3 billion to acquire a portfolio of 19 office buildings across Australia. Oxford Properties Group…

  • By: Staff
  • December 17, 2018 January 12, 2021
  • 09:17
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Expanding risks, expanding risk frameworks

At the first Risk Management Conference, 20 years ago, there were many things plan sponsors probably weren’t thinking about. Currency, for example, says Marlene Puffer,…

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Is inflation coming back?

While no one can know for certain if inflation is coming bank, David Zanutto, senior investment consultant at Mercer, says that the risks of inflation…

How companies are stacking up on U.N.’s sustainable development goals

While many companies are aware of the United Nation’s sustainable development goals, with some mentioning them directly in their disclosure reporting, only 12 per cent of those…

  • By: Staff
  • December 13, 2018 January 12, 2021
  • 09:59

Brexit and beyond: Where to from here?

The writing was on the wall that if British Prime Minister Theresa May brought her Brexit proposal to a vote on Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2018,…

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Long-term stock exchange hopes to bring together long-term companies and long-term investors

In a world of volatility, where pension investors are in it for the long haul, could a stock exchange focused on the long term be…