Breakfast (Gallery Room)

Retirement outlook 2023 – 2024 (Wellington Ballroom)

The word crisis gets used a lot these days – is it relevant to retirement saving? Current retirees are among the country’s most secure in a financial sense, but the pandemic has unleashed forces that will make it more difficult for people still in the workforce to retire comfortably. High interest rates and inflation are part of the story, but so are changing financial priorities. With expensive houses and high debt levels, workers may not find as much value in company pensions as previous generations.

Speaker:

Rob Carrick, personal finance columnist, The Globe and Mail

Target date insights: Delivering outcomes through strategic asset allocation

Strategic asset allocation is the primary driver of a target date fund’s performance over time, with diversification being one of the most powerful tools for helping plan members navigate the uncertainty of capital markets. This session will discuss insights around strategic asset allocation, frameworks that can be used for decision making and how to evaluate various market trade-offs in selecting asset classes to include.

Speaker:

Jon Knowles, institutional portfolio manager, global asset allocation, Fidelity Investments

Networking break (Promenade Foyer)

Options for implementing real assets in DC plans

The countless benefits of real assets within a diversified portfolio are well understood, but which asset classes should defined contribution pension plan sponsors focus on? What are the different ways to achieve the exposure? Is there an optimal solution for the DC market? This session will answer those questions and more.

Speaker:

Andrew D. Knox, managing director, Franklin global real assets fund, Franklin Templeton Investments

Making fixed income work smarter, not harder

In today's financial landscape, there are more allocation choices than ever before. However, when defined contribution plan members think of fixed income, they often envision it to be a conservative investment selection that primarily serves as a portfolio anchor. What if there is a way to unbundle fixed income into sub-components that allows to strive for enhanced risk-adjusted returns? This session will explore the opportunities that can come from unbundling the fixed income allocation.

Speaker:

Aaron Young, vice-president, client portfolio manager, CIBC Asset Management

Lunch (Gallery Room)

Income for life: How investment choices can make it possible for DC plan members

Is income security possible for defined contribution plan members? This session will cover longevity risk, longevity risk pooling and the portfolio ‘alpha’ that can be generated for members during their retirement phase in support of income for life. Creating a sustainable income stream in retirement is critical for every member and must be assembled from income sources like the Canada Pension Plan, Old Age Security, defined benefit plans and withdrawals from lump sums held in DC plans and personal savings.

Speakers:

Pat Leo, vice-president, institutional investments, Longevity Retirement Solutions

Fraser Stark, president, Longevity Retirement Platform

Charting a stronger glide path to better retirement outcomes

Determining the glide path is the most important step in target-date fund design — because it can have the most impact on retirement outcomes. This session will look at the greatest risks plan members face during the accumulation and decumulation phases, how to quantify them and how to strike the right balance between generating enough wealth while delivering a smooth and secure ride to retirement and beyond.

Speakers:

Satwik Misra, director, business development and relationship management, Sun Life Global Investments

Jason Zhang, portfolio manager, Sun Life Global Investments

Networking break (Promenade Foyer)

Panel: How DC plan sponsors are approaching socially responsible investing 

The concept of socially responsible investing includes many facets, such as environmental investing and ethical investing. As a strategy, it seeks to consider both financial return and social good to bring about change. In this panel session, three DC plan sponsors will describe their perspectives on socially responsible investing and how their pension plans are incorporating it into their investment lineups, as well as sharing tips and advice for DC plan sponsors in the early stages of considering these options.

Panellists:

Derrick Johnstone, executive director, University of British Columbia Faculty Pension Plan

Paula Moore, vice-president, tax and treasury, Bayer Inc.

Chris Reynolds, manager of pension policy, Canada Post Corp.

Networking and cocktail reception (Gallery Room)