Higher long-term bond yields driven by rising interest rates are lowering the cost of annuity purchases for defined benefit pension plans, says Mary Kate Archibald, a principal at Eckler Ltd. Since January, the cost of an annuity purchase has decreased by between 10 and 15 per cent, as long-term bond yields increased from 1.7 to […]
The market value of assets held by Canadian trusteed pension funds increased 4.2 per cent to $2.27 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2021, up from $2.18 trillion in the previous quarter, according to new data from Statistics Canada. Within trusteed plans, public sector assets grew five per cent to $1.78 trillion, accounting for 78 per cent […]
While institutional investors have likely relaxed leverage constraint in their private equity portfolios, they could realize better investment outcomes by taking the same approach with their public market exposures “Constraints [on leverage] prevent some of the most useful tools in portfolio management — namely, full diversification,” said Roberto Croce, head of risk parity and liquid […]
In spite of overall losses, Canadian defined benefit pension plans saw their financial positions improve on a solvency and accountancy basis in April, according to LifeWorks Inc.’s latest monthly report. An investment portfolio designed to mimic that of a typical pension saw its assets decline by 5.3 per cent over the month. Despite this, the […]
The median Canadian defined benefit pension plan experienced a pullback in investment returns during the first quarter of 2022, returning negative 6.4 per cent as markets entered a heightened period of uncertainty, according to a new report by Northern Trust Canada. The report, which tracks the performance of Canadian DB plans that subscribe to Northern […]
More than half (61 per cent) of U.S. employees nearing retirement age believe low interest rates combined with rising inflation will make it difficult to create a retirement income stream that will last their lifetimes, according to a new survey by Global Atlantic Financial Group. It also found a quarter (24 per cent) of survey […]
The economic impact of the pandemic has been unevenly distributed across various industries, with travel and transportation among the hardest-hit sectors. However, while travel restrictions and subsequent employee layoffs in these industries made headlines throughout 2020 and 2021, the pension plans provided by these employers have largely weathered any economic fallout. The impact on air […]
At the beginning of 2020, the OPSEU Pension Trust upped its gold allocation to close to six per cent of its total fund after a comprehensive portfolio assessment. The decision paid off. In an environment of historically low interest rates and coronavirus-related market uncertainty, the commodity’s price skyrocketed to reach an all-time high of US$2,000 […]
The average solvency ratio of Canadian defined benefit pension plans in Mercer’s database increased five percentage points in the first quarter of 2022, according to a new report by the consultancy. The report, which assessed the performance of 464 pension plans, found as at March 31, 2022, the plans’ average solvency ratio reached 108 per […]
The market value of assets held by Canadian trusteed pension funds rose 1.8 per cent to $2.18 trillion in the third quarter of 2021, up from $2.14 trillion in the previous quarter, according to new data from Statistics Canada. Within trusteed plans, public sector assets grew two per cent to $1.7 trillion, accounting for 77.6 per cent of […]