Canada’s defined benefit pension plans saw median returns of negative 7.33 per cent in the second quarter of 2022, according to the BNY Mellon Canadian master trust universe. It found the one-year median return as of June 30, 2022 was negative 8.25 per cent, while the median 10-year annualized return was 7.45 per cent. Among […]
With the increased focus on integrating environmental, social and governance factors into pension plans, a new approach by BlackRock Inc. could have a significant impact on many Canadian defined contribution pension plans, group registered retirement savings plans and other types of workplace capital accumulation plans. The money manager recently announced it will be adopting an ESG approach […]
Despite year-to-date asset losses and historically high levels of inflation, most Canadian defined benefit pension plans are reporting increased funded positions in the second quarter of 2022, according to a report by Mercer Canada. It found the median solvency ratio increased from 108 per cent as at March 31 to 109 per cent as at […]
Higher long-term bond yields driven by rising interest rates are lowering the cost of annuity purchases for defined benefit pension plans, says Mary Kate Archibald, a principal at Eckler Ltd. Since January, the cost of an annuity purchase has decreased by between 10 and 15 per cent, as long-term bond yields increased from 1.7 to […]
The market value of assets held by Canadian trusteed pension funds increased 4.2 per cent to $2.27 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2021, up from $2.18 trillion in the previous quarter, according to new data from Statistics Canada. Within trusteed plans, public sector assets grew five per cent to $1.78 trillion, accounting for 78 per cent […]
The Public Sector Pension Investment Board returned 10.9 per cent — or $19.7 billion — across is total portfolio in the 2022 fiscal year. Between April 1, 2021 and March 31, 2022, the institutional investor’s assets under management grew from $204.5 billion to $230.47 billion, an increase of 12.7 per cent. The results raised PSP […]
“We all know the basic premise — that assets with more risk should generally be compensated with higher returns. The more risk you take, the more return you should expect. The empirical reality is that isn’t really true,” said Treacy, an institutional portfolio manager at Fidelity Investments Inc., during his session. He argued that the […]
While politics plays a role in most investment decisions, it tends to arise on a fairly localized basis, says Michael Craig, head of the asset allocation and derivatives teams at TD Asset Management Inc. In addition, its prominence as a factor usually rises and falls on a cycle, slipping easily off investors’ radar in times […]
Canada’s institutional investors saw assets decline by 4.61 per cent in the first quarter of 2022, according to the BNY Mellon Canadian master trust universe. With respect to non-traditional asset classes, real estate delivered the highest performance, with a quarterly median return of 4.65 per cent. Among traditional asset classes, Canadian equities performed best. During the […]
The average solvency ratio of Canadian defined benefit pension plans in Mercer’s database increased five percentage points in the first quarter of 2022, according to a new report by the consultancy. The report, which assessed the performance of 464 pension plans, found as at March 31, 2022, the plans’ average solvency ratio reached 108 per […]