Despite the prevalence of farming in its home province, the Alberta Investment Management Corp.’s agricultural portfolio is just 13 years old, the product of a 2010 investment in converted farmland held by Australian timber producer Great Southern Group. The properties proved too arid for tree growth and were converted back to croplands for canola, wheat […]
Canadian defined benefit pension plans generated a median return of 1.19 per cent in the second quarter of 2023, according to the BNY Mellon Canadian asset strategy view universe. The universe, which is based on $300.1 billion worth of investment assets in Canadian DB plans, found the one-year median return at June 30, 2023 was 10.05 per cent, while the […]
British Columbia’s wildfires have crystallized the threats pension plan administrators across that province face from catastrophic climate change events, says Damara Kiceniuk, senior risk analyst of pensions at the B.C. Financial Services Authority. However, these fires are just one catastrophic risk pension funds have to manage. These risks have prompted the organization to release a discussion […]
A new study looking at the implications of scale in defined benefit pension plans found size is key for several trends over time, including investment mandates, asset allocation and cost in returns. The research, ‘Scale Economies, Bargaining Power and Investment Performance: Evidence from Pension Plans‘ was recently awarded first prize in the International Centre for […]
Artificial intelligence offers the promise of “a big structural change that will play out over a long period of time,” according to Kieran Moore, a partner and portfolio manager at Munro Partners, noting the growth opportunities associated with AI lie in the enablers of structural changes that can improve productivity and workflows. For investors like […]
Manitoba’s Teachers’ Retirement Allowances Fund returned negative 0.42 per cent in 2022, exceeding its benchmark return of negative 5.04 per cent. “While we are pleased with these short-term results, our longer-term results are equally favourable,” said Jeff Norton, the TRAF’s president and chief executive officer, in its annual report. “Over the past 20 years to […]
U.S. state and municipal pension funds are on track to miss investment targets and are unlikely to see meaningful improvements in their unfunded liabilities or funded ratios in 2023, according to a new report by the Equable Institute. The report, which analyzed trends in benefits, cash flows, contributions, funding and investments at 225 of the […]
The infrastructure arm of the Ontario Municipal Employees’ Retirement System is investing in a fibre-optic communication network provider. OMERS Infrastructure has agreed to make a significant capital commitment in Beanfield Technologies Inc., which operates 4,000 kilometres of fibre-optic broadband infrastructure network in Canada. The investment will be used to support the network’s expansion. According to […]
The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec is investing in a Quebec-based company that develops, sells and rents pre-fabricated modular buildings for the educational market. According to a press release, the investment will enable AMB Modulaire, in which Lise Bernier and Jacques Latreille have been shareholders for more 15 years, to finalize the transfer process […]
As Thames Water Utilities Ltd. came under fire this month for its financial mismanagement and poor environmental record, the debacle highlights institutional investors’ responsibilities around due diligence and risk management. “Thames Water should act as a kind of warning,” says Andrew Clare, a professor and chair in asset management at the City, University of London’s […]