In a world with volatility and uncertainty, four key transitions can explain the headlines: China, technology, energy and demographics, said Vikram Mansharamani, who is a lecturer at Harvard University and author of Boombustology: Spotting Financial Bubbles Before They Burst. China is growing and trying to transition to a consumption-led economy, but the transition isn’t complete […]
Global growth slowed to three per cent on an annual basis in the middle of 2019 and is expected to remain below three per cent for the next 18 months, according to a Q4 report by Aviva Investors. “That would represent the weakest sustained period for over a decade,” the report said. “We expect all […]
South Africa’s economy has been sluggish in recent years, but upcoming changes could provide hope for institutional investors considering opportunities in the country. Its economy has been in a low-to-modest growth mode, said Falilou Fall, senior economist at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, during the Canadian Investment Review’s podcast “Pension Passport.” He highlighted policy uncertainty as a reason investment […]
South Africa’s economy has been sluggish in recent years, but upcoming changes could provide hope for institutional investors considering opportunities in the country. Its economy has been in a low-to-modest growth mode, said Falilou Fall, senior economist at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, during the Canadian Investment Review’s podcast “Pension Passport.” He highlighted […]
The world was caught off guard when the U.K. voted to leave the European Union on June 23, 2016, since the majority of polls had predicted the opposite outcome. In the wake of the vote, the British pound fell in value relative to other currencies to levels not seen since 1985. It’s a real-time example […]
The solvency positions of Canadian defined benefit pension plans declined in the fourth quarter of 2018 after experiencing gains in the first nine months of the year, according to Mercer’s latest pension health index. The median solvency ratio dropped to 95 per cent at the end of 2018 from 102 per cent at the end of […]
The writing was on the wall that if British Prime Minister Theresa May brought her Brexit proposal to a vote on Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2018, it likely wouldn’t have received the support needed to pass. So she decided to postpone it. Yesterday, she returned to European leaders in hopes of renegotiating the deal — but […]
Uncertainty on how U.S. and Chinese policies will affect trade, Italy’s budget standoff with the European Commission, worry over Brexit and the U.S. Federal Reserve’s monetary policy all imply volatility for the coming year, according to Russell Investment Canada Ltd.’s 2019 market outlook. The firm is remaining neutral on equities and underweight U.S. stock, though it’s maintaining a more […]
Factoring environmental, social and governance considerations into investment decisions is good risk management, according to one pension plan sponsor. “Definitely for real assets, we see it presenting risks, but also opportunities,” said Donna Mathieu, chief executive officer of NAV Canada Corp.’s pension plan, while speaking on a panel at the Canadian Pension and Benefits Institute’s 2018 […]
The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan posted a net return of 3.2 per cent for the first half of 2018, adding $4.4 billion to the plan as of June 30, 2018. Speaking on a conference call on the mid-year result, Ron Mock, president and chief executive officer at the OTPP, called the first six months of […]