Canadian defined benefit pension plans posted a median 3.13 per cent return for the third quarter of 2020, following a strong market rebound, according to a new report by BNY Mellon Asset Management Canada Ltd. The organization’s master trust universe, which is comprised of 86 Canadian corporate, public and university pension plans, found U.S. equities was the […]
Canadian defined benefit pension plans posted a median three per cent return in 2020’s third quarter, buoyed by positive performance in equity markets, according to the RBC Investor & Treasury Services plan universe. Year-to-date, the median return was 5.2 per cent for the period ending Sept. 30, 2020. “Canadian defined benefit pension plans remained in […]
Canada’s defined benefit pension plans posted a 3.2 per cent return in 2020’s third quarter, a position augmented by strong global equity markets, according to Northern Trust Canada’s pension universe. “The global pandemic has undoubtedly accelerated the pace of change for many defined benefit pension plans over the course of recent months, namely in the […]
While the overall financial state of Ontario’s defined benefit pension plans improved in 2019, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario continues to monitor fluctuations caused by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. In the FSRA’s new report, it projected the estimated going-concern and solvency funding positions of the province’s DB plans to a common year-end date. […]
Manulife Investment Management Holdings (Canada) Inc. has been named to the Principles for Responsible Investment’s PRI leaders’ group 2020 in recognition of its ‘cutting edge’ practices in climate reporting, one of 36 signatories honoured this year. In its assessment, the PRI awarded Manulife Investment Management an A+ in the areas of strategy and governance, equity […]
With U.S. stock prices exceeding pre-coronavirus highs and credit spreads nearly as tight as before the pandemic, investors are signalling overconfidence in the market, says Rob Almeida, portfolio manager and global investment strategist at MFS Investment Management. While polls and betting odds appear to be favouring a Joe Biden win, that doesn’t align with what […]
Back in December 2018, I wrote an article asking whether it was a good time for pension plan sponsors to revisit value investing. At that time, public equity markets were having a difficult quarter and traditional value strategies didn’t perform as well as expected, failing to provide the much-touted protection in down equity markets. Flash forward to […]
For the second year in a row, Canada ranked No. 8 among developed nations for retiree well-being, according to Natixis Investment Managers’ annual global retirement index. The index, which provides an overview of the relative well-being and financial security of retirees in 44 countries, examined 18 factors across four categories: finances in retirement, material well-being, […]
A majority (79 per cent) of institutional investors see a global economic slowdown as the top threat to their portfolios in the next 12 months, according to a new survey by Schroders. Prompted by coronavirus-related concerns, it’s a big jump from the 49 per cent of respondents that said the same in 2019. Those concerns are also […]
The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan is opening a new office in Singapore to enhance its capabilities in Asia Pacific. As of the end of 2019, the plan had more than 30 employees in the region and about $15 billion invested there across public equity, private equity and infrastructure. “Expanding our presence in Asia is critical to […]