What effect do low interest rates really have on how pension funds invest and what are the long-term consequences? When plan sponsors are underfunded, they have a few set options, according to a new paper by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. For a state-sponsored plan, the choice of whether to take on assets with higher […]
Institutional portfolios have been tilted towards growth assets as they’ve reached for higher returns during the bull market of the last decade. But as the business cycle continues to stretch, it’s a prudent time to consider downside protection measures. Wylie Tollette, executive vice-president and head of client investment solutions for Franklin Templeton’s multi-asset solutions business, […]
Global protectionism appears to be here for the long game. While investors may not want to start playing defence just yet, it might be time to start practicing again. In it’s mid-year outlook, the BlackRock Investment Institute noted risk reduction, including elevating the levels of cash in a portfolio, would be a prudent measure given the […]
U.S.-denominated Asian bonds have reached US$1.1 trillion in outstanding bonds and now rank alongside U.S. high yield and bank loans, according to an Invesco Canada Ltd. insight brief. Amping up the market’s growth, Asian banks have been hampered by tighter regulatory capital requirements and are not able to meet the debt needs of Asia’s growing […]
FTSE Russell is launching a government bond index that weighs countries’ preparedness and resilience to climate change risk. A spin-off of the FTSE world government bond index, the new FTSE climate risk-adjusted world government bond index will include the sovereign bonds of 22 developed markets. In order to establish its climate-risk weightings, FTSE is using […]
Canadian defined benefit pension plans maintained their solvency levels through the second quarter of 2019, according to Mercer’s latest pension health index. The index, which represents the solvency ratio of a hypothetical plan, reached 106 per cent as of June 30, 2019, an increase from 102 per cent at the year’s outset. The current solvency […]
While geopolitical tensions are grabbing investors’ attention, how is Canada faring domestically? It’s a bit of a mixed bag, according to Russell Investments Group’s latest quarterly outlook, which noted that while Canada’s economic data has outpaced that of other developed markets, the rosy outlook may not last. Specifically, Russell’s analysis of Citigroup Inc.’s economic surprise […]
Looking back at the first half of 2019, bond and equity markets seem to be telling opposing stories, according to T.Rowe Price’s mid-year market outlook. Strong gains in equity markets in the U.S. and certain emerging regions would appear to suggest a renewed confidence in earnings for the year to come, the report said. Meanwhile, […]
With renewed volatility prompting money managers back on their toes, equity markets have been leading investment industry discussions over the past few quarters. Against this backdrop, how is fixed income, the other fundamental building block of defined benefit pension portfolios, faring? For David Lafferty, senior vice-president and chief market strategist at Natixis Investment Managers, the […]
When it comes to investing member contributions, the Co-operators Group Ltd.’s defined contribution pension doesn’t look like many other Canadian plans. For one, it doesn’t use a platform approach to investing. Instead, much of its more than $1 billion in assets under management are part of a pre-constructed balanced fund with different target-risk levels with […]