While the financial sector is more likely poised for steady, sustainable growth than it was 10 years ago, worrying trends provide hints about what may cause the next downturn, according to a strategy note from Unigestion. “In a nutshell, in terms of global growth, in terms of compared to a 2008 situation, the path of growth […]
Canadian plan sponsors aren’t satisfied with the retirement products available for capital accumulation plans and aren’t especially confident their members will have the income they need in retirement, according to a new survey by Schroders. “Most people didn’t feel that what was out there was going to allow people to retire with a high enough income,” said […]
Broad examples of divergence, across many asset classes and geographies, could be an indicator that markets are headed for more turmoil than the surface appearance currently indicates, according to a strategy note from Unigestion. Divergence refers to a phenomenon when segments of financial markets that tend to move in sync begin to do the opposite. In […]
Franklin Templeton Investments Corp. has appointed Sonal Desai as chief investment officer of its fixed income group, effective Dec. 31, 2018. With more than 10 years at the investment firm, Desai joined in 2009 as director of global macro research. Previously, she was an economist at Thames River Capital and director and senior economist at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein […]
The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce is launching a Canadian bond framework focused on a commitment to promoting women in corporate leadership roles. The bond framework aims to meet the increasing demand by institutional investors for options to commit dollars to socially responsible investments, according to a press release from the bank. “This new social bond framework […]
Gains from U.S. equities and shrinking liabilities led to healthier Canadian defined benefit pension plans at the beginning of September, according to Aon’s latest data. Its median solvency ratio, which tracks the plans it administers, rose one percentage point since Aug. 1, 2018, to 102.9 per cent. The number of plans that are fully funded also rose […]
The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan posted a net return of 3.2 per cent for the first half of 2018, adding $4.4 billion to the plan as of June 30, 2018. Speaking on a conference call on the mid-year result, Ron Mock, president and chief executive officer at the OTPP, called the first six months of […]
Private credit is a bit of a buzzword these days, according to Christian Stracke, managing director and global head of credit research at PIMCO. Despite its overuse, however, there remains a lack of understanding about private credit — in fact, it is often conflated with other products, many of which involve a lot more risk-taking. […]
BMO Capital Markets, alongside the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, has launched a pilot fixed income issuance transaction, mirrored on a blockchain platform. In the transaction, the Bank of Montreal acted as the issuer, while Ontario Teachers’ purchased a $250 million one-year floating rate deposit note. It marks the first Canadian dollar fixed income issuance showing the viability […]
In February, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board flipped the script on fixed income by issuing its own bonds rather than purchasing them. The move to issue one billion euros’ worth of 15-year bonds at a 1.5 per cent fixed annual coupon marked the second time it had released euro-denominated bonds. In June 2017, it […]