An independent review of the Ontario Municipal Employees’ Retirement System will examine the unique governance structure of the investment organization. The current structure of the investment organization designates two separate entities with different duties and responsibilities, notes Jordan Fremont, a partner in the pensions and benefits group at Stikeman Elliott LLP. The OMERS Sponsors Corporation […]
The market volume of annuity purchases by Canadian defined benefit pension plan sponsors reached an estimated $2.1 billion in the third quarter of 2024, a small decline from $2.5 billion in the previous quarter, according to a new report by Telus Health. It noted some insurers are showing a strong appetite and offer competitive pricing […]
While political tensions have recently flared between Canada and India, institutional investors are unlikely to adjust their capital allocation to the country, says Partha Mohanram, John H. Watson chair in value investing at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. “I don’t [have] any indication that you’re going to see any kind […]
The average Canadian defined benefit pension plan returned 5.1 per cent during the third quarter of 2024, an increase from 1.1 per cent in the previous quarter, according to a new report by RBC Investor Services. It found Canadian DB plans achieved an average return of 9.6 per cent on a year-to-date basis. The growth […]
The funded position of a typical Canadian defined benefit pension plan decreased to 107 per cent in August, down from to 107.8 per cent at the end of July, according to Telus Health’s latest pension index. It found a representative pension plan portfolio returned 0.4 per cent for the month due to strong performances by Canadian equities […]
The International Centre for Pension Management is celebrating 20 years of promoting strong pension governance practices by regularly engaging plan sponsor members, says Sebastien Betermier, the organization’s executive director. “It’s a milestone and it speaks to the value of having candid and quality exchanges among the pension funds . . . it’s a safe space for them […]
With many Canadian defined benefit pension plans in a strong funded position, plan sponsors, particularly those with unionized workforces, are increasingly discussing the use of surplus funds, says Gavin Benjamin, a partner in the retirement and benefits solutions practice at Telus Health. The funded position of a typical Canadian defined benefit pension plan rose on […]
The federal government is currently seeking recommendations about its plan to introduce solvency reserve accounts for federally regulated defined benefit pension plans. Under the government’s proposed model, first announced in 2022, these accounts would be optional and constitute a separate account within a DB plan. In a press release, the government said solvency reserve accounts […]
The average Canadian defined benefit pension plan posted a median return of 1.1 per cent in the second quarter of 2024, according to a new report by RBC Investor Services. The report, which tracks performance and asset allocation across Canadian DB plans, also found that the plans saw a return of 4.4 per cent for […]
The funded ratio of the average Canadian defined benefit pension plan, excluding the effect of asset smoothing, reached 124 per cent as at March 31, 2024, up seven per cent from the fourth quarter of 2023, according to a new report by Normandin Beaudry. It found the average solvency ratio of Canadian pension plans was […]