Agenda | Benefits Canada.com

Riding growth waves

Elbert Hubbard said, “the world is moving so fast that the person who says it can’t be done is generally interrupted by someone doing it.”

Join Joe Faraday, director in Baillie Gifford’s international equities specialists team, as he explores research into innovation and the rapid rise of new industries and technologies. While some businesses endure, evolve and continue to be extremely successful with time, others will be superseded by the next big wave of innovation and driver of growth and advancement. In this session, Faraday will reveal the steps you can take to research these innovative companies and build portfolios from the bottom-up, uncovering how key clusters of certain companies could have outsized effects on economic growth and development.

Speaker: Joe Faraday, director, international equities specialists team, Baillie Gifford

The future of asset allocation and digital assets

The prospect of higher inflation is one of the key macro forces that is likely to act on markets and drive reallocation of portfolios in coming years. Canadian pensions will not only need to seek return streams that work as inflation rises but also maintain diversification. Inigo Fraser Jenkins, co-head of institutional solutions at AllianceBernstein, will examine these issues in addition to falling Sharpe ratios across asset classes and the need to increase allocations to real assets and equities as well as address the question whether cryptocurrencies and real assets tokenized on the blockchain can help from a return and diversification perspective.

Speaker: Inigo Fraser Jenkins, co-head of institutional solutions, AllianceBernstein

Fixed income 2022: A world upended

Against the backdrop of events in the Ukraine and Russia, governments are imposing restrictions while central banks have been removing COVID created accommodations. As a result, markets are experiencing tighter liquidity conditions, higher volatility, higher interest rates and changing bond-equity correlations. Is your portfolio ready? Join Andrew McCormick, global head of fixed income and chief information officer at T. Rowe Price, as he discusses a fresh approach to these issues, highlighting the importance of bold active duration management and creative ways to help preserve capital and diversify.

Speakers:

Samantha Cleyn, vice-president, head of eastern Canada, T. Rowe Price

Andrew McCormick, head of global fixed income and chief investment officer, T. Rowe Price

Low volatility investing - A closer look at finance theory versus empirical reality

In this session, Ben Treacy, institutional portfolio manager at Fidelity Investments, will take a deeper dive into the low volatility anomaly and explore the empirical evidence behind why low volatility equity portfolios have shown to outperform traditional cap-weighted equity portfolios over full market cycles with lower portfolio risk. He will also discuss how incorporating low volatility equities into a broader equity portfolio can improve efficiency and how fundamental research can aid in the management of low volatility strategies.

Speaker: Benjamin D. Treacy, institutional portfolio manager, Fidelity Investments

Private market allocations: Theory vs. reality

An increasing number of institutional investors are seeking access to private market investments to help achieve long-term return objectives. While private equity, real estate and debt may offer opportunities for enhanced returns, there are some common misunderstandings and assumptions about allocating to private markets that can cause problems for investors. This session attempts to provide some practical, real-world solutions to these challenges.

Speaker: Wylie Tollette, executive vice-president, head of client investment solutions, Franklin Templeton Investment Solutions Franklin Advisers, Inc.

An alternative to the collective hysteria in private markets

Many Canadian pension plans have increased their allocations to private markets in response to the consensus view that conventional liquid allocations will underperform in the near term. However, a modestly levered basket of stocks, commodities and bonds can be used to seek high returns and remain totally liquid. For investors who need to maintain some liquid assets and can’t afford to have them earn two to four per cent in real terms, risk balanced portfolios are an invaluable tool in a challenging and uncertain environment.

Speaker: Roberto Croce, head of risk parity and liquid alts, Newton Investment Management Group

DeFi in depth: Regulatory hurdles ahead

While some private investors are making use of innovative decentralized financial instruments, major hurdles prevent most established financial sector organizations from engaging with the emerging technology. In this session, Dr. Ryan Clements will discuss the regulatory barriers preventing institutional investors from fully benefitting from the opportunities presented by decentralized finance technology.

Speaker: Ryan Clements, assistant professor, chair in business law and regulation, Faculty of Law, University of Calgary

Why Canada's top pension plans stand out on the global stage

Sebastien Betermier, associate professor of finance at the Desautels Faculty of Management at McGill University, has spent his career seeking to understand how investor's decisions have contributed to the development of a sustainable pension system in Canada. In this session, he will share his findings on Canadian public sector pensions and why they have been so successful over the past quarter-century.

Speaker: Sebastien Betermier, associate professor of finance, Desautels Faculty of Management, McGill University

Emerging markets debt, a Canadian perspective

Emerging markets investing is familiar to Canadian investors, yet emerging market debt is still underrepresented across portfolios. EMD has matured significantly as an asset class over the past two decades. Today, many EMD issuers have robust fundamental profiles and are of a higher credit quality than in the past. This session will look at the long-term diversification benefits of a strategic allocation to EMD from a Canadian investor perspective. With recent events, we will also discuss how risk-off volatile markets create opportunities for active investment managers and where we find value.

Speaker: Ward Brown, fixed income portfolio manager, MFS Investment Management

How to build a performing and diversified private market program

As a percentage of their total assets, Canada's largest public sector pension plans make larger private market allocations than their global peers. As private markets offer the opportunity to enhance returns and mitigate risk, this strategy is paying off. Smaller plans replicating their approach will encounter significant barriers, as making the best use of private markets requires size and expertise across a diverse range of asset classes. Join this session for a discussion on a strategy that helps overcome these barriers with expertise, opportunistic investment philosophy and diversification among asset classes, geographies and vintages.

Speaker: Tarik Serri, senior director, hedge funds and alternative investments, Trans-Canada Capital Inc.

Plan sponsor case study: A fireside chat on DEI

While the moral argument for diversity, equity and inclusion may be gaining traction, the business case isn't as widely understood. In this session, Sunita Mahant, head of global initiatives, diversity, equity and inclusion at Ivanhoé Cambridge, will explain why failing to consider diversity, equity and inclusion can affect the bottom line.

Speaker: Sunita Mahant, head of global initiatives, diversity, equity and inclusion, Ivanhoé Cambridge, the real estate wing of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec

Plan sponsor panel: ESG

In the face of fast-growing commitments to carbon neutrality, fiduciaries must address the risks of large carbon footprints in their portfolios. Public discussions centre on equities, but private high carbon assets such as pipelines and office buildings are also an issue behind closed doors. What’s the Canadian experience on engagement on the public side or retrofitting on the private side? Is there really evidence of a “brownium” developing in equity, bond and private markets or is this just hype? Are changes such as mandatory TCFD reporting making brown asset discounts inevitable? Join Catherine Ann Marshall, principal consultant at RealAlts, as she moderates a panel of ESG experts and institutional investors to bring a pragmatic perspective to issues around stewardship and divestment.

Panellists:

Serge Germain, general manager, pension committee, University of Sherbrooke

Adam Goehner, senior manager, ESG strategy and risk, investment strategy and risk, British Columbia Investment Management Corp.

Chris Powell, director of infrastructure and timber investments, Alberta Investment Management Corp.

Moderator:

Catherine Ann Marshall, principal consultant, RealAlts Inc.

Global Investment Conference

All times listed below are in local time (MST).

April 5, 2022

April 6, 2022

April 7, 2022

*This agenda is subject to change.

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