An increase in the protection limit for defined benefit pension plan members’ assets invested in annuities is making it easier for plan sponsors to de-risk, says Mary Kate Archibald, a principal at Eckler Ltd. Assuris, the not-for-profit organization that protects a portion of retirement benefits from annuities in the event of an insurer’s insolvency, now covers up to $5,000 […]
An article on Saskatchewan’s Public Employees Benefits Agency transition to a not-for-profit corporation was the most-read story on BenefitsCanada.com over the last week. Here are the five most popular news stories of the week: 1. Saskatchewan’s pension and benefits administrator transitioning to not-for-profit model 2. University Pension Plan’s assets declined 9.1% in 2022, led by public equities 3. Survey […]
Salvatore Iacono will succeed John Sullivan as president and chief executive officer of Cadillac Fairview, the real estate arm of the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, effective November. Iacono joined the real estate investment organization in 2018 and is currently its executive vice-president of operations. In the position, he’s responsible for overseeing the retail, office and mixed-use […]
When Alaska switched its public education employees from two defined benefit pension plans to a 401(k)-style defined contribution plan, more staff left their positions, according to a new report by the National Institute on Retirement Security. The report benchmarks retirement benefit offerings among state-level plans in Alaska and nationwide, analyzing the evolution of public pension […]
An amendment to Manitoba’s Beneficiary Designation Act allows a pension plan member’s legal representative to now make a beneficiary designation on behalf of the member if they can’t make the designation themselves. However, the representative can only designate a beneficiary if the plan renews, replaces or converts a plan made by the participant and the same […]
The Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan is recognizing the property managers of nine Canadian buildings among the winners of its Leadership in Environmental Advancement Program awards. The LEAP awards, which were launched in 2011, recognize property managers of buildings in the pension organization’s property portfolio for efforts related to energy conservation and greenhouse gas emission […]
On April 12-14, a group of defined benefit pension plan sponsors, asset managers and academics gathered at the Fairmont Chateau Whistler in British Columbia for the 2023 Global Investment Conference. Over the course of three days, presenters discussed whether the Canadian pension model remains fit for purpose in a period defined by central bank intervention, […]
“Let me start by pointing out the obvious: the last few years have been exhausting,” said Mina Krishnan, multi-asset portfolio manager at Schroders, during a session on regime shifts at the Canadian Investment Review’s 2023 Global Investment Conference. “We’ve had the [coronavirus] pandemic, the war in Ukraine, the energy crisis and Brexit.” As a result […]
Institutional investors are entering a golden period ripe with opportunities in current global and emerging markets, said Karl Dasher, president of Polen Capital, during the Canadian Investment Review‘s 2023 Global Investment Conference. From early 2020 to the end of 2021, the market was flooded with liquidity from the unprecedented combination of fiscal stimulus, U.S. Federal Reserve […]
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 […]