Countering earlier positive reports on pension plan performance so far this year, Aon Hewitt is seeing a decline in the median solvency ratio in the second quarter of 2017. The firm cited hawkish remarks on interest rates by the Bank of Canada in reporting the median solvency ratio of Canadian defined benefit plans had fallen […]
While the investment climate has generally been positive in recent months, investors can expect a macroeconomic “tug of war” in 2017, according to the head of TD Asset Management Inc. “On the one side of this tug of war are some good things from the perspective of the financial markets,” Bruce Cooper, chief executive and […]
With Poland issuing the world’s first sovereign green bond totalling 750 million euros in December and France following suit with an even larger issuance of 7 billion euros earlier this year, investment managers expect the market for green bonds will continue to grow. “Based on trends, 2017 will probably be the year where we’re going […]
As part of a new series of interviews in Benefits Canada‘s companion publication, the Canadian Investment Review, Caroline Cakebread sat down with the OPSEU pension plan’s chief investment officer James Davis to ask five key questions about what the fund is working on right now and what big risks are facing investors today. The questions […]
Portfolio construction a good buffer for geopolitical risk.
The financial health of Canadian defined benefit pension plans improved again in February as buoyant stock markets offset the impact of moderating bond yields, according to Aon Hewitt’s monthly pension plan solvency survey. The survey, which is based on the results of defined benefit pension plans administered by the organization, found median solvency stood at […]
The Ontario Pension Board has completed its largest bond issue to date, a $750-million, 10-year bond offering. More than 66 investors took part in the offering, including 19 new buyers. “Since our first bond offering in 2012, investor interest has continued to increase with each offering,” said Mark Fuller, OPB’s president and chief executive officer, […]
Health of Canadian DB plans continues to improve.
With interest rates so low, can plan sponsors still pull the LDI trigger?
Pension funds and retirement savers face a future of decreased investment returns, says a report from the C.D. Howe Institute.