The Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System posted an 11.9 per cent return for 2019. The net return added $11.5 billion in value to the pension fund, pushing its funded status on a smoothed basis to 97 per cent. The double-digit returns neatly beat the OMERS overall benchmark of 7.5 per cent. “The story in 2019 is that there was […]
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board generated a net income of $14.5 billion for its third fiscal quarter, rounding out a 7.1 per cent return for the nine months of its fiscal year so far. With $3.6 billion in net Canada Pension Plan outflows for the quarter, which ended Dec. 31, 2019, the fund saw a total […]
Canadian defined benefit pension plans posted a return of 14 per cent in 2019, according to the RBC Investor and Treasury Services’ universe. These double-digit returns were the second highest for DB plans in the past decade, bolstered by a surge in equity markets both domestically and around the world. “Over the past 10 years, […]
Green, social and sustainability bond issuance is set to jump by 24 per cent in 2020, according to new data from Moody’s Investor Service Inc. Moody’s is predicting issuances will climb to US$400 billion by the end of the year, up from US$323 billion in 2019. More specifically, the research anticipates green bond issuance will […]
Pension funds ended 2019 on a strong note, with diversified pooled fund managers posting a median return of 2.6 per cent before management fees in the fourth quarter, according to Morneau Shepell Ltd.’s performance universe of pension managers’ pooled funds. Year-to-date, the return was a stellar 15.8 per cent, with both stock and bond markets […]
Institutional investors have been going back and forth about whether monetary policy will provide the tailwinds to markets it did last year or whether central banks are running out of steam. Monetary policy decisions by the U.S. Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank and other developed market players did plenty to bolster markets in early 2019, […]
Canada’s defined benefit pension plans increased their solvency levels in 2019 and have equity markets to thank, according to Mercer. The Mercer pension health index, which represents the solvency of a hypothetical plan, increased to 112 per cent in the final quarter of the year, up from 105 per cent at the end of the […]
After a year of nirvana, investors may need to get ready for something a little more normal. Markets are coming off a fabulous 2019, where stocks and bonds around the world climbed in concert. But for the next year, and decade, in fact, Wall Street is telling investors to set their expectations considerably lower. It’s […]
The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec’s subsidiary CDPQ Infra has concluded a work optimization agreement with NouvLR, the consortium building the Réseau express métropolitain, a rapid transit system underway in the greater Montreal area. The agreement is a response to challenges identified during the first 18 months of the project and reinforces the project’s delivery […]
The Swedish word “tack” translates to “thank you,” which is precisely what IKEA is saying to employees with its Tack! loyalty program. In Canada, the program operates as a deferred profit-sharing plan and is part of employees’ total rewards package. “The [program] was launched in 2013 based on the wish of IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad […]