Ontario’s defined benefit pension plans had a median solvency ratio of 94 per cent at the end of 2018, according to the Financial Services Commission of Ontario’s latest report. The median ratio represents a decline from the previous quarter, which sat at 101 per cent as of Sept. 30, 2018. More than half (53.9 per cent) […]
Following years of steady, globally synchronized growth, volatility is back. In the final weeks of 2018, North American stock markets were especially hectic, posting losses in December to round out a relatively challenging year. Virtually every asset class, with the notable exception of commodities, has done well over the past decade, says Bert Clark, president […]
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its net assets by $0.2 billion during its third fiscal quarter, pushing overall assets up to $368.5 billion, off a 1.1 per cent return. “Broad declines in global public equity markets created a challenging investment environment during the quarter,” said Mark Machin, president and chief executive officer of […]
Canadian defined benefit pension plans finished 2018 in negative territory, according to two new reports. Pension plans in RBC Investor & Treasury Services’ universe posted an annual return of negative 0.7 per cent, reversing gains from the previous three quarters of the year, and substantially lower than 2017’s annual return of 9.7 per cent. Canadian equities and […]
The name of the game is engagement, according to a new report by NEI Investments. In 2018, engagement with investee companies on environmental, social and governance factors was a major undertaking for the firm. It actively engaged with 118 companies on these topics, comprising 40 per cent of its overall equity holdings. “We are committed to helping […]
In 2018, investment in Canadian real estate turned out to be a broadly lucrative venture for the country’s institutional investors, especially when compared with how poorly equities performed during the year, according to Simon Fairchild, executive director at MSCI Inc. Speaking at an event in Toronto on Friday, Fairchild described how MSCI’s Realpac Canada property index […]
Institutional plan sponsors lost a median of 3.8 per cent in 2018, as losses in the fourth quarter of the year dragged down returns, according to new data by Northern Trust Corp. The Northern Trust Universe, which tracks the performance of about 300 large U.S. institutional investment plans with a combined asset value of about $925.7 billion, found […]
“Climate change is a weapon of mass destruction,” said Sandra Carlisle, head of responsible investment at HSBC Global Asset Management, at a panel hosted by the Responsible Investment Association on Thursday. It’s critical that investors, who are thinking about how the impacts of climate change present a genuine risk, broaden their perspective to include the multifaceted […]
While the role of data in equities management is important, human expertise is still key, according to speakers at the CFA Society Toronto’s 2019 equities symposium on Jan. 22. “If you want to beat the market as an active manager you have to believe you know something that the market hasn’t incorporated into prices,” said […]
The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and the government of Quebec are adding to their previous investment in electric vehicle charging company AddEnergie Technologies Inc. The Quebec-based company manufactures charging stations and develops network management software for other organizations. The Caisse and the provincial government initially invested in the business in 2016 to help it expand across Canada. […]