Originally from our sister publication, Advisor.ca. Should investors chisel their portfolios onto granite and wait them out for the long haul, regardless of what happens…
Mark Twain said, “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it does rhyme.” This is an apt quote for the current market conditions, which continue to cause…
Watch this video John Power, senior vice-president, U.S. equities, with Pyramis Global Advisors, says that investors need to seriously rethink traditional asset allocations. For starters,…
My previous article, Finding the target (date fund), introduced target date funds (TDFs)—also known as lifecycle or age-based funds—and provided background for why they are…
Risk is a central concept in investing, particularly for retirement solutions in DC pension plans. However, the analysis of risk is potentially complicated, as the…
It’s certainly no secret that during the last decade, the trend within the Canadian pension landscape has been for plan sponsors to move away from…
The global volatility that marked the first quarter of 2011 battered stock markets, allowing defensively positioned value managers to beat the S&P/TSX Composite Index, according…
The real estate investment trust (REIT) market in Canada continues to grow and develop. Does this signify an investment opportunity for institutional investors? A REIT…
Portfolio measurement is usually performed by the calculation of returns. But returns alone do not describe the performance of a portfolio. It is essential to…
Why should institutional investors invest in the infrastructure space? Most pension plans need to match liabilities, and infrastructure investment is a way to do this,…
Finally there is an asset class where philanthropy and desire for capital gains can cohabit without qualms or a clash. Known as impact investing, it…
After the roller coaster ride of the past three years, pension plans are starting to ask questions about their methods for selecting and evaluating investment…
Investors—pension fund investors in particular—remain skeptical of a reliance on the equity risk premium. Judging from the asset mix trends and money remaining on the…
Exchange traded funds have emerged as important instruments for investors and advisors. That’s not surprising, but the way they’re being used might be: once touted…
A large loss is not evidence of a risk management failure...
Two recent enhancements in financial engineering allow us to bring this theory to the real world of investment.
As a result of the two market crises of the past decade, it has become evident that a more holistic way of looking at risk…
Behavioural finance, or the study of investor psychology, marries the psychology of decision-making with investors’ trading behaviour and asset pricing. Departures from rational decision-making emerge…
In November 2009, I questioned if the pension industry is an example of ‘The Peter Principle’ in action. In other words, has the pension industry…
Coverage from the 2010 Risk Management Conference.
Currency management was the topic of the most recent Canadian Investment Review debate.
Although many pension funds have embraced LDI (liability-driven investing) in principle, the decision to proceed with LDI is quite problematic in terms of timing and…
The considerable traction gained by liability driven investing (LDI) both in Canada and abroad is well documented. Ongoing challenges to pension plan funded status stemming…
Since the global financial crisis, asset allocation isn’t what it used to be. That is the main message behind State Street’s latest report, which explains…
Pension plan sponsors and other investors with long time horizons often rely on high allocations to equities to help them achieve their long-term return objectives.…