In 2009, the Air Canada pension plan was in dire straits with a $2.6 billion solvency deficit. A decade later, it has a surplus of more than $2 billion. The complete turnaround is in part due to a new investment team that joined in 2009 and transformed the pension fund’s investments. With the $21 billion […]
A majority (59 per cent) of global institutional investors said they’re dissatisfied with publicly traded companies’ climate-related disclosures, according to a new survey by the Global Sustainable Investment Alliance. The survey, which polled investors in Australia, Canada, Europe, Japan, the United Kingdom and United States, found 40 per cent of respondents described themselves as somewhat […]
Heading into 2020, institutional investors are eyeing the disconnect between gloomy macroeconomic indicators and strong equity market performance. Leading indications in both North American and European economies have been trending down all year, with global gross domestic product growth forecasts in a slump, said Alec Young, managing director of global markets research at FTSE Russell, during a […]
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 […]
Two questions seem to occupy pundits and popular media these days. One is why interest rates are negative and what this means. The other is whether value investing is dead. Answering the first question provides useful insights in dealing with the second question. Negative interest rates on government bonds are observed in Europe and Japan, […]
While a recession may not be likely, institutional investors can expect dampened performance in many capital markets heading into 2020, according to Bill Yun, executive vice-president at Franklin Templeton’s multi-asset solutions business, at an event in Toronto on Tuesday. Forward-looking expectations for capital markets from Canadian government bonds to emerging market equities are all in […]
The majority of Canadian institutional investors say they don’t think shareholders should take precedent over all other stakeholders, including employees, at a given company, according to a new survey by Daniel J. Edelman Holdings Inc. It found 91 per cent of respondents said maximizing profits in the interest of shareholders can no longer be the primary purpose of […]
While it’s generally known Canadian pension plans have a home country bias when it comes to fixed income, a new study by FTSE Russell suggests there’s an equity home bias as well. The report looked at the ratio of domestic and global equity for pension funds in Australia, Canada, Japan, the U.K. and the U.S. […]
The debate surrounding how institutional investors use proxy voting is heating up. The contention hinges on guidance the Securities and Exchange Commission released earlier this year on the activities of proxy-advisory firms. It says that when proxy-advisory firms provide proxy-voting advice to their investor clients, it counts as proxy solicitations. That, in turn, means those […]
While public equities appear to be holding steady, at least for the moment, certain longer-term indicators could give institutional investors cause for concern. “Growth is not at risk and inflation is nowhere to be found. And those two factors are likely to push central banks to become complacent,” says Florian Ielpo, head of macroeconomic research at Unigestion […]