As bond yields drop, many Canadian pension plans are looking at new strategies to increase returns through alternative investments, according to a webinar hosted by the Portfolio Management Association of Canada on Tuesday. “We’re looking for uncorrelated scalable risk, with low or no correlation to major markets like equity or credit,” said Jane Segal, portfolio […]
Canadian defined benefit pension plans posted a median 3.13 per cent return for the third quarter of 2020, following a strong market rebound, according to a new report by BNY Mellon Asset Management Canada Ltd. The organization’s master trust universe, which is comprised of 86 Canadian corporate, public and university pension plans, found U.S. equities was the […]
Canadian defined benefit pension plans posted a median three per cent return in 2020’s third quarter, buoyed by positive performance in equity markets, according to the RBC Investor & Treasury Services plan universe. Year-to-date, the median return was 5.2 per cent for the period ending Sept. 30, 2020. “Canadian defined benefit pension plans remained in […]
The Bank of Canada kept its key interest rate on hold Wednesday as it said the country’s economy won’t recoup the losses from the coronavirus until 2022, with the road to recovery dependent on the path of the pandemic. In July, the Bank of Canada said it believed the country had been spared from a […]
Canada’s defined benefit pension plans posted a 3.2 per cent return in 2020’s third quarter, a position augmented by strong global equity markets, according to Northern Trust Canada’s pension universe. “The global pandemic has undoubtedly accelerated the pace of change for many defined benefit pension plans over the course of recent months, namely in the […]
In January 2020, the Canadian Institute of Actuaries released final changes to the actuarial standards of practice for calculating commuted values, with the changes scheduled to come into effect on Dec. 1, 2020. The changes will affect the lump-sum amounts paid from many Canadian defined benefit pension plans in situations such as: the termination of employment of […]
When the coronavirus pandemic hit, many organizations were focused on getting through the short term, but defined benefit pension plan sponsors are starting to take another look at de-risking. As of the second quarter of 2020, the total market volume of group annuity purchases year-to-date was $0.5 billion, compared to $1.5 billion in the first […]
Over the last 40 years, the demographics of pension plan membership have changed drastically, said Michael Augustine, managing director and head of asset-liability management at TD Asset Management, during a webinar hosted by the investment manager earlier this month. “Forty years ago, when rates were a lot higher, pension plan demographics were quite different. For every […]
Chinese government bonds are set to be included in the FTSE Russell world government bond index. The changes came off the back of the index provider’s latest country classification review, with the inclusion reflecting China’s ongoing progress toward market reforms and increased access for global investors, according to FTSE Russell. The inclusion is scheduled to […]
The Canadian Institute of Actuaries has selected FTSE Russell to represent the provincial and investment-grade corporate bond spread to be used for the CIA’s new market-based commuted-value calculation. The calculation is used to determine how much to pay a member of a registered defined benefit pension who leaves the plan and elects to receive their […]