Will the environment of rising rates continue? And if so, over what period? And where can long-term investors find opportunities? Canadian Investment Review asked Robert Spector, fixed income portfolio manager at MFS Investment Management for his views. Spector says he thinks there will be further monetary tightening, which will have implications for short-term interest rates, […]
For the first time since the Financial Services Commission of Ontario began monitoring defined benefit pension solvency in 2009, the province’s DB plans posted a median solvency ratio above 100 per cent in the third quarter of 2018. As of Sept. 30, the solvency ratio reached 101 per cent, up from 97 per cent the previous quarter. […]
Canadian defined benefit pension plans saw a median return of 0.42 per cent in the third quarter of 2018, according to BNY Mellon Asset Servicing’s universe of 81 corporate, public and university plans. While not as robust as the previous quarters, the gains mark the tenth straight positive quarter, with the universe posting a one-year median return […]
Pension managers’ pooled funds posted meagre returns in the third quarter of 2018, according to Morneau Shepell Ltd.’s performance universe. Markets were less synchronized during the latter half of 2018, leading to more mixed results than earlier in the year, noted the report, which showed a median return of 0.4 per cent before management fees. However, this […]
Three new senior appointments at the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan include new roles for Gillian Brown, Danilo Simonelli and Saurabh Rastogi. Brown will lead the pension fund’s capital markets group as senior managing director. The team manages total fund exposure to a number of asset classes, including equity, fixed income, credit and inflation sensitive. Since joining the Ontario Teachers’ in 1995, Brown has […]
For nearly a decade, analysts have been considering where the next market downturn will come from and when it will strike. But with the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s 800-point drop on Oct. 10, 2018, some asset managers are wondering whether it’s already begun. Amid the uneasiness, Sun Life Global Investment Management is pointing to a number of clouds on […]
The traditional move away from equities to fixed income over a target-date fund’s glide path is too simplistic to produce optimal outcomes for members, according to Neil Walton. Speaking at the 2018 Defined Contribution Investment Forum in Toronto in September, Walton, head of investment solutions in the portfolio solutions group at Schroders Investment Management, told […]
As the investment landscape gets more complicated, defined contribution pension plan members’ investment options need to keep up, said Chhad Aul at the 2018 Defined Contribution Investment Forum in Toronto in September. Portfolio managers are currently operating in a unique environment, said Aul, portfolio manager at Sun Life Global Investments. This includes the easing off of many central banks’ […]
Ensuring a glide path’s asset allocation is correct is really important since it’s going to be managing the bulk of positions for so many defined contribution plan members, according to Ruthann Pritchard, speaking at the 2018 Defined Contribution Investment Forum in Toronto in September. While the level of equity within the glide path at any given moment […]
A growing number of institutional investors believe integrating environmental, social and governance factors into their portfolios can help generate alpha, according to a new survey by RBC Global Asset Management Inc. This represents a major jump, from 24 per cent in last year’s survey to 38 per cent this year. On the other hand, 20 per […]