During 2020’s second quarter rebound, U.S. equities saw stronger performance than other developed markets like the U.K. and the rest of Europe. However, during the coronavirus pandemic so far, factors have moved largely in tandem in those geographies, according to Philip Lawlor, managing director and head of global investment research at FTSE Russell, during a webinar […]
The Public Sector Pension Investment Board saw a negative 0.6 per cent return for its last fiscal year, which ended March 31, 2020. Severe market declines in the lead up to the end of March took a heavy toll. However, the fund did outperform its reference portfolio’s benchmark, which posted a negative 2.2 per cent […]
Canada’s 11 largest pension funds should be able to maintain their current credit ratings through ongoing market turmoil, according to Fitch Ratings Inc. Nevertheless, return expectations are under significant pressure from the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, said the ratings agency in a new report. “Fund performance will depend on asset mix, which is largely […]
With its recent acquisition of environmental, social and governance data analytics provider Sustainalytics, Morningstar Inc. is taking aim at the disparate ESG disclosure requirements still hampering the investment industry. In a recent report, Morningstar sussed out some of the issues hindering ESG measurement tools. “Simply put, ESG disclosures from issuers are all too often inconsistent and […]
The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan’s 2019 climate change report contains its first-ever, independently assured portfolio carbon footprint. Even as the plan’s assets grew in 2019, it’s overall carbon footprint fell by about 15 per cent, driven in large part by the sale of a particularly high-emitting private asset, according to the report, which was assured […]
Jim Hall is stepping down as co-manager of Mawer Investment Management Ltd.’s Canadian and global equity strategies to focus his full attention on his responsibilities as chair of the firm’s board of directors, effective Jan 1. 2021. Paul Moroz, who currently co-manages the global equity strategy alongside Hall, in addition to his role as chief […]
As private equity investments become all the more commonplace in pension fund portfolios, is the asset class really worth it? According to a paper by Ludovic Phalippou, professor of financial economics at the University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School, private equity funds have failed to outperform equities over a 10-year period. But the real catch is […]
The increase in U.S. corporate debt issued in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak could be a warning signal to credit investors, according to a recent blog post by MSCI’s Research’s managing director, Andy Sparks, and executive director, Gergely Szalka. As many companies headed into the current crisis with an already heavy debt burden, new […]
The majority of U.S.-based defined contribution pension plan sponsors said they haven’t felt the need to pause or reduce contributions during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new survey by the Defined Contribution Institutional Investment Association. While 86 per cent of respondents said they aren’t considering suspending matching employer contributions, just eight per cent said they already have. […]
It appears some institutional investors are aware of activist campaigns before they become public, according to new research. A working paper by three assistant professors of finance — the University of Northern Iowa’s Ryan Flugum, the University of Rhode Island’s Choonsik Lee and the University of South Carolina’s Matthew Souther — found some institutional investors […]