“Investing in private markets comes with its fair share of challenges,” said Rémi Tétreault, director of client solutions at Trans-Canada Capital Inc., during the Canadian Investment Review’s 2023 Global Investment Conference. “There’s operational complexity, capital calls and distributions. You’ve got the selection of the right general partners . . . and there’s the challenge of […]
The commercial office real estate doom loop that was expected from the growth in remote working hasn’t really caught on, according to Victor Couture, assistant professor of economics at the University of British Columbia’s Vancouver School of Economics, speaking during the Canadian Investment Review‘s 2023 Global Investment Conference. Remote work is almost certainly here to stay, which is why […]
There’s a distinct window of opportunity for institutional investors to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns through refurbishing brown buildings in Europe to make them operationally carbon neutral, said Lucy Swinton, investment director at Fidelity International, during the Canadian Investment Review’s 2023 Global Investment Conference. Environmental, social and governance — particularly the ‘E’ aspects — is increasingly becoming a disruptive […]
In recent years, adaptive reuse strategies — which transform an existing structure to allow it to serve a new purpose — have become popular in the real estate portfolios of Canada’s largest public sector defined benefit pension plans. Indeed, repurposing old buildings can provide stronger returns to institutional investors than ground-up developments, but only in […]
U.S. defined benefit pension plans posted net returns of 4.47 per cent in the first quarter of 2023, according to a report from Investment Metrics plan universe. The performance was led by allocations to public equities, which generated 6.47 per cent during the quarter. Fixed income allocations also performed well, rising 2.93 per cent. Alternative […]
The Alberta Investment Management Corp. will receive a majority stake in a wholly owned subsidiary of an oil and gas development and production company in order to settle its debts. Razor Energy Corp., a petroleum producer headquartered in Calgary, has reached an agreement with the investment organization that will eliminate $63.2 million of secured debt […]
At the best of times, selecting an optimal asset mix for a defined benefit pension plan is challenging. The times of today are downright turbulent. Last year, inflation reached 8.1 per cent in Canada as a result of a prolonged period of government stimulus spending to manage the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. In response […]
The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan is investing in a wireless communications infrastructure company. Diamond Communications, which specializes in developing wireless network facilities to enhance internet and cellular services in remote regions, owns and manages a network of 300,000 wireless infrastructure sites in Canada and the U.S. It also owns 4,000 sites rented by internet service […]
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board is supporting an effort to spin off the steel-making side of an investee mining company despite previously saying it would oppose the measure. The board-backed proposal, which was approved at Teck Resources Inc.’s annual general meeting, called for the company to consider spinning off its steel-making business as a […]
The real estate arm of the Ontario Municipal Employees’ Retirement System is operating the most productive shopping centre in Canada, according to a new report from the International Council of Shopping Centers. Toronto’s Yorkdale Mall returned annual sales of US$24,000 per square metre of retail space in 2022, more than any other Canadian mall. The […]