The funded position for an average Canadian defined benefit pension plan improved slightly during May, with a solvency of 108.2 per cent, according to a new report by LifeWorks Inc. (formerly Morneau Shepell Ltd.) On an accounting basis, it found expenses for the average pension plan had dropped precipitously since the beginning of 2021, at […]
Purpose Investments Inc. is introducing a new longevity pension fund, which invests 50 per cent in equities and 50 per cent in fixed income. It can be incorporated into a defined contribution plan to provide plan members with an in-plan decumulation option, says Pat Leo, vice-president of retirement solutions at Purpose Investments, noting investors can redeem […]
Canada’s defined benefit pension plans experienced flat performance in the first quarter of 2021, with the median plan’s returns declining by 0.2 per cent in the first three months of 2021 after rising 10 per cent through 2020, according to Northern Trust Canada’s pension universe. Read: Canada’s DB pension plans post 5% return in Q4, […]
The Alberta Investment Management Corp. is reporting a total fund return of 2.5 per cent net of all fees for 2020, approximately 5.4 per cent below that of its benchmark. The total represents approximately $3 billion in net investment income, with assets under management reaching $118.6 billion, according to a press release, which noted the […]
As interest rates return to pre-pandemic levels, fixed income is returning to its role as an equities hedge, according to a webinar on Wednesday hosted by AllianceBernstein Canada Inc. “As we see rates rise back to where they were at the end of 2019, there’s gas in the tank for fixed income to play that […]
Canada’s defined benefit pension plans’ funded positions continue to improve in 2021, ending the first quarter at their highest levels in more than 20 years, according to Mercer Canada’s pension health index. It found solvency ratios increased from 114 per cent at the end of 2020 to 124 per cent at the end of March 2021, with the median solvency ratio […]
The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan is reporting a total-fund net return of 8.6 per cent for 2020, a year which has generated mixed financial results for Canada’s major pensions due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The pension plan earned $18 billion in investment income in 2020 and its net assets reached $221.2 billion as at Dec. 31, 2020, […]
Coronavirus vaccinations and the US$1.9-trillion fiscal stimulus package are paving the way for the U.S. economy to recover as the world enters the second year of the coronavirus pandemic, in turn driving investor demand for equities and risk assets, according to a recent webinar hosted by Natixis Investment Managers. Esty Dwek, global market strategist at […]
Canadian pension funds are seeing significant cost savings from in-house asset management but are still relying on external managers, according to a new survey from CIBC Mellon. It found among funds that have taken asset management in-house, 66 per cent said they achieved savings. Of those, 91 per cent reported more than 10 per cent […]
The market value of assets held by Canadian employer pension plans increased to $2.12 trillion in the third quarter of 2020, according to a new report by Statistics Canada. It found while private sector assets saw a year-over-year increase of 4.6 per cent to $654.3 billion, public sector assets nearly reached $1.47 trillion. Stocks posted the largest increase at […]