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Latest news in Investment Strategies

OMERS to be out as Golf Town owner as retailer seeks CCAA protection

OMERS to be out as Golf Town owner as retailer seeks CCAA protection

Golfsmith International Holdings Inc., a U.S. golf retailer owned by the private equity arm of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System, will be selling Canada-based…

  • By: Staff
  • September 15, 2016 September 13, 2019
  • 09:00
The merits of investing in companies based at home but active in emerging markets

The merits of investing in companies based at home but active in emerging markets

With the Chinese economy lagging and places like Brazil experiencing political instability, investing in companies based in developed countries that do a lot of business…

Continued growth predicted as ETF industry tops $100 billion in Canada

Continued growth predicted as ETF industry tops $100 billion in Canada

Exchange-traded funds are gaining ground. According to the London, England-based research and consultancy firm ETFGI LLP, assets invested in ETFs and exchange-traded products listed globally…

  • By: Brooke Smith
  • September 1, 2016 September 13, 2019
  • 08:57
How to deal with religious preferences in making DC investments

How to deal with religious preferences in making DC investments

What does it mean for an employer to consider the preferences of a religious group, such as Muslims, in laying out investment options in a…

Sounding Board: Ontario Pension Board makes the case for asset pooling

Sounding Board: Ontario Pension Board makes the case for asset pooling

In managing a pension plan, every basis point of investment return and expense ratio and every unit of risk matter. While that has always been…

  • By: Mark Fuller
  • August 30, 2016 September 13, 2019
  • 09:30
Institutional investors call on ratification of Paris climate agreement

Institutional investors call on ratification of Paris climate agreement

In advance of September’s G20 meeting in Hangzhou, China, 130 institutional investors are urging international leaders to ratify the Paris climate agreement. In a letter,…

  • By: Staff
  • August 29, 2016 September 13, 2019
  • 09:30
CPPIB adds humans rights as key focus area for engaging with potential investments

CPPIB adds humans rights as key focus area for engaging with potential investments

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board has added human rights as one of its focus areas for engaging with companies in which it invests. “We…

  • By: Staff
  • August 26, 2016 September 13, 2019
  • 09:33
Institutional investors push for environmental, social changes in companies through SHARE

Institutional investors push for environmental, social changes in companies through SHARE

The University of St. Michael’s College in Toronto is the latest institutional investor to join the Shareholder Association for Research and Education, an organization that…

CPPIB sees 1.45% net return in first quarter

CPPIB sees 1.45% net return in first quarter

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board saw a net investment return of 1.45 per cent at the end of the first quarter of its 2017 fiscal…

  • By: Staff
  • August 11, 2016 September 13, 2019
  • 10:45
CRM2, regulatory actions abroad put fee transparency under the microscope

CRM2, regulatory actions abroad put fee transparency under the microscope

With the third phase of the Client Relationship Model, Phase 2 (CRM2) rules around fee disclosure in Canada now in effect and new regulatory actions…

Why dynamic hedging is a good option for managing currency risk

Why dynamic hedging is a good option for managing currency risk

Many people grow up with the notion that it’s not good to take risks. However, it doesn’t take too much to realize that risks are…

A primer on the Client Relationship Model (CRM2)

A primer on the Client Relationship Model (CRM2)

The Client Relationship Model is a regulatory effort designed to help clarify investment performance and costs for investors. Phase 1 What it involves: New disclosure…

Private debt a good option for bond refugees

Private debt a good option for bond refugees

The investment industry likes to coin a new term, an heuristic, for each economic and market event. It referred to the BRIC countries to describe…

  • August 5, 2016 September 13, 2019
  • 11:20
Sun Life Financial plugging into the startup industry

Sun Life Financial plugging into the startup industry

Sun Life Financial is tapping into the expertise of Silicon Valley through a partnership with a startup platform that incubated PayPal. The Plug and Play Tech Centre…

Low volatility still the top smart beta strategy: poll

Low volatility still the top smart beta strategy: poll

Low volatility continues to be the most popular smart beta strategies of institutional investors, according to FTSE Russell. The company surveyed 253 asset owners in January and February.…

  • By: Staff
  • July 26, 2016 September 13, 2019
  • 10:36
PSP Investments’ assets generated 1% return in last fiscal year

PSP Investments’ assets generated 1% return in last fiscal year

The Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s net assets under management reached $116.8 billion at the of the 2016 fiscal year. Its investments generated a return…

  • By: Staff
  • July 22, 2016 September 13, 2019
  • 10:23
Ways to rethink fixed income

Ways to rethink fixed income

Investors tend to rely too heavily on fixed income to pad returns. While it’s true we’ve been spoiled for 30 years – falling yields have…

The evolution of asset allocation: Using alternatives to overcome challenges

The evolution of asset allocation: Using alternatives to overcome challenges

In the second post of a three-part series exploring the changing asset allocation among Canadian institutional investors, I examined the changing needs of pension plans…

The volatility of correlation and its impact on portfolio design

The volatility of correlation and its impact on portfolio design

Since the development of modern portfolio theory, many institutional investors have used mean-variance optimization techniques to help identify their appropriate asset mix. This quantitative approach…

How did Canada’s fastest-growing pension funds fight off 2015 market headwinds?

How did Canada’s fastest-growing pension funds fight off 2015 market headwinds?

In a year that witnessed volatile markets and a plummeting Canadian dollar, 92 per cent of the plans on Benefits Canada’s top 100 pension funds…

Caisse invests €200 million in Eurofins Scientific

Caisse invests €200 million in Eurofins Scientific

The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec is investing 200 million euros in Eurofins Scientific, a global laboratory testing services company. Caisse describes the…

  • By: Staff
  • June 30, 2016 September 13, 2019
  • 08:55
Is it time for pension funds to rethink their fixed-income allocations?

Is it time for pension funds to rethink their fixed-income allocations?

Pension investors have always relied on bonds as a steady source of diversification, capital preservation and a hedge for liabilities. But since the 2008 financial…

Sounding Board: Pension funds must get serious about adapting to climate change

Sounding Board: Pension funds must get serious about adapting to climate change

Climate change and extreme weather events threaten business continuity and, by extension, cash flow across all business sectors. However, as damaging as floods, droughts, wildfires,…

How Canadian pension funds can help Ottawa’s infrastructure agenda

How Canadian pension funds can help Ottawa’s infrastructure agenda

Though there has yet to be a formal agreement reached on how Canada’s largest pension funds will work with the federal government to support its infrastructure agenda,…

  • By: Staff
  • June 15, 2016 September 13, 2019
  • 09:55
AIMCo invests in Alberta hydraulic fracturing company

AIMCo invests in Alberta hydraulic fracturing company

Alberta Investment Management Corporation has entered into a strategic financing relationship with Calfrac Well Services, an Alberta-based pressure pumping services provider, on behalf of certain…

  • By: Staff
  • June 15, 2016 September 13, 2019
  • 08:45