In a low-rate world where income is increasingly tough to find, more and more investors are getting into the riskier corners of lending to companies. A financial watchdog says that might cause problems in financial markets during a downturn. The Financial Stability Board, an international group created to co-ordinate financial regulators, released a report Thursday […]
Japanification is a term describing the spread of low growth and low inflation around the world. Speaking at the Canadian Investment Review’s 2019 Defined Benefit Investment Forum in Toronto on Dec. 6, Charles Lannon, head of equities at Cidel Asset Management Inc., discussed whether Europe and the United States are destined for a similar fate […]
For intergenerational investors, such as foreign pension plans ramping up their exposure to alternative assets and leveraging patient capital, it’s worth paying attention to Indonesia’s potential. “If you follow the logic that the country’s going to be the fourth or fifth largest economy in the world . . . then, to me, it’s too big […]
In Monday’s federal election, the Liberal Party of Canada won a minority government with the Conservative Party of Canada taking official opposition status and both the Bloc Québécois and New Democratic Party collecting enough seats to potentially prop up a Liberal government. Overall, these political changes will likely have a very modest impact on broad […]
China’s debt problem is serious, but the risk of a hard landing or banking crisis is, in my view, low. The reason is that the potential bad debts are corporate, not household, debts and were made at the direction of the state—by state-controlled banks to state-owned enterprises, as part of a stimulus in response to […]
Imagine a scenario where an employee can’t afford to opt into their company’s defined contribution pension plan because of debt. Regardless of whether it’s a mortgage, student loan or credit card debt, the employee has more urgent short-term priorities, so saving for retirement is being pushed to the back-burner. How can employers ensure they’re talking […]
Three-quarters (74 per cent) of employees said financial benefits, such as savings tools, offered by their employer at the time of a pay raise would lead to less stress, while 78 per cent said it would help them feel more confident about their finances, according to a new survey by Commonwealth. The survey, which polled […]
From the end of 2015 to the end of 2017, impact investing in Canada has grown by 81 per cent, representing $14.75 billion, according to a new report by the Responsible Investment Association. “Like any pre-teen, impact investing currently sits on the edge of youthful maturity,” said Kelly Gauthier, RIA board member and managing director of impact advisory at […]
To find value in a competitive infrastructure market filled with dry powder, plan sponsors can look beyond equity and senior debt, focusing instead on junior infrastructure debt, according to Claire Smith, alternatives director at Schroders. “Canadian pension funds are no stranger to infrastructure equity investment, but we’ve seen valuations in this market getting higher,” she […]
Rewind to 2017. It was a very unusual year, with global growth receiving a boost from a combination of ultra-supportive financial conditions, a temporary boom in the global trade cycle and the absence of any adverse political or financial shocks, said Darren Williams, senior vice-president and director of global economic research at AllianceBernstein, speaking at […]