While many of the investment strategies and resources at the disposal of the Maple 8 — Canada’s eight largest public pension plans that represent more than $2.1 trillion in assets under management — are out of reach for medium- and small-sized plan sponsors in the country, the path carved by the most sophisticated investment organizations […]
An article detailing a stark increase in the use of obesity medications among Canadian employer-sponsored benefits plan members was the most-read article on BenefitsCanada.com this week. Here are the top five human resources, benefits, pension and investment stories of the past week: 1. Claims for obesity drugs increased 42% in 2023, 92% since 2020: report 2. How […]
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board earned an eight per cent return last year but significantly underperformed the 19.9 per cent return of its reference portfolio. The lower return can be explained in part by higher volatility in the stock-focused benchmark portfolio compared with the diversified, long-term return focus for the pension fund, says John Graham, the […]
An article on the value that deferred profit-sharing plans can offer to small- and medium-sized employers was the most-read article on Benefits Canada.com this week. Here are the top five human resources, benefits, pensions and investment stories of the past week: 1. Sounding Board: How DPSPs can support SMEs’ retirement, talent management goals 2. CPPIB wants to […]
The British Columbia Investment Management Corp. is selling more than US$1 billion worth of private equity funds to Ardian, a France-based independent private equity investment company, according to reporting by Bloomberg. Although it’s unclear which assets the BCI intends to sell, last June, Bloomberg also reported the investment manager was considering the sale of roughly $2 […]
While real assets are largely absent among the investment options offered by Canadian defined contribution pension plans, they can offer significant long-term benefits to plan members, said Andrew Knox, managing director of Franklin Templeton Investments’ global real assets fund, during a session at Benefits Canada’s 2024 DC Plan Summit in February. “[Defined contribution] investors in […]
A story on how private payers are implementing preferred pharmacy networks to reduce benefits plan costs was the most-read story on BenefitsCanada.com this week. Here are the top five human resources, benefits, pension and investment stories of the past week: 1. More private payers seeking to reduce costs turning to preferred pharmacy networks: expert 2. Chipotle expanding […]
Hundreds of Albertans turned out for a meeting in Edmonton last week to hear officials from the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board discuss the state of the national retirement plan, while acknowledging Alberta’s ongoing discussion about leaving it, according to reporting by the Edmonton Journal. The meeting attracted a crowd of about 400 people, during […]
Canada’s largest public pension funds are showing modest improvements on climate action but are moving too slowly overall, according to a new report by a climate advocacy group. The progress report from Shift Action for Pension Wealth and Planet Health found four of the 11 pension plans it examined still don’t have emissions reduction targets […]
The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec is acquiring an equity stake in North American port terminal and logistics operator QSL International Ltd. The investment organization first invested in QSL in 2021 through loan deals. The deal is expected to close in mid-2024 and details of the transaction weren’t disclosed. “We are proud to take […]