Defined contribution pension plan sponsors may face workforce planning challenges coming out of the coronavirus pandemic as older plan members whose account balances were hard hit by this year’s market volatility delay their retirements. “We saw a lot of presenteeism coming out of the [global financial crisis] — are we going to see that again?” asks […]
With some jurisdictions gently reducing coronavirus-imposed restrictions, institutional investors are beginning to lay out possible scenarios for economic recovery. The terms V- and U-shaped recovery, along with arguments over which is more likely, have swirled throughout the past few months as economies around the world shut down huge swathes of their normal activities. Alessio de […]
Canada’s inflation rate turned negative in April as the economy came to a standstill in the first full month of the pandemic as part of a spending shift that a top central banker says may signal further changes in consumption patterns post-COVID-19. Statistics Canada said Wednesday the consumer price index for April fell 0.2 per […]
With some jurisdictions gently reducing coronavirus-imposed restrictions, institutional investors are beginning to lay out possible scenarios for economic recovery. The terms V- and U-shaped recovery, along with arguments over which is more likely, have swirled throughout the past few months as economies around the world shut down huge swathes of their normal activities. Alessio de Longis, […]
Only eight per cent of Canadian employers said they’re fully prepared to reopen their workplaces when provincial governments lift restrictions, according to a new survey by the Conference Board of Canada. The survey found a further 39 per cent of respondents said they’re nearly prepared and almost half (48 per cent) said they’re somewhat prepared. While few […]
In times of crisis, many pension plan sponsors pull back on investing in private equity, including the secondary market, because they’re trying to assess their liquidity needs, says Joseph Marks, global head of secondaries at Capital Dynamics. But this pulling back often happens at a time when they should be putting their foot on the […]
Health care and consumers staples are sectors that typically perform well, even in moments of market stress. But during the coronavirus crisis, these sectors have provided slightly less downside protection, says Ramiz Chelat, global equities portfolio manager at Vontobel Asset Management. On the consumer staples front, the coronavirus shutdown is impacting consumption outside of the […]
Even before the coronavirus began affecting capital markets, fixed income investors were becoming more risk averse, according to Invesco’s latest survey. Close to half (43 per cent) of investors surveyed in late 2019 said they felt the then economic cycle had a year or less left to run and were adapting their portfolios accordingly. In some cases, this change […]
The Home Depot Inc. has taken a number of steps to support its employees during the coronavirus pandemic. In its annual earnings report, the global home improvement retailer said it expanded paid time off for all hourly workers with additional hours to be used at their discretion, which will be paid out at year-end if […]
The Alberta Investment Management Corp.’s board of directors has released a statement outlining its response to the poor performance of its volatility trading strategy. In the wake of the coronavirus crisis, the strategy resulted in a loss of $2.1 billion or about two per cent of the AIMCo’s portfolio. “Oversight of AIMCo’s investment strategies and risk management is […]