While China’s presence on emerging market indexes may be shrinking, the case for investing in it remains compelling, said Vivian Lin Thurston, a partner and portfolio manager for emerging markets growth at William Blair Investment Management, during a session at the Canadian Investment Review’s 2023 Global Investment Conference. “China now accounts for approximately 31 per […]
At the best of times, selecting an optimal asset mix for a defined benefit pension plan is challenging. The times of today are downright turbulent. Last year, inflation reached 8.1 per cent in Canada as a result of a prolonged period of government stimulus spending to manage the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. In response […]
Factors such as population demographics, productivity and geopolitics impact economic growth and, by extension, the retirement outcomes of defined contribution pension plan members over longer-term time horizons, said Jon Knowles, senior investment analyst at Fidelity Canada Institutional, during a session at Benefits Canada‘s 2023 DC Plan Summit. Ageing populations have traditionally been viewed as a dis-inflationary force due […]
Representatives from six of Canada’s largest public sector pension investment organizations addressed a special parliamentary committee on Monday. The special committee on the Canada–People’s Republic of China Relations called on the British Columbia Investment Management Corp., the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan […]
Amid the unprecedented events of the last three years, the Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology pension plan has remained on course with its investment strategies, according to Asif Haque, the plan’s chief investment officer. “We held our focus on the key goal of the CAAT’s investment program. . . . The plan’s diversified asset […]
Despite the challenging economic environment, Canadian defined benefit pension plans saw a median return of 4.27 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2022, according to BNY Mellon’s Canadian master trust universe. The universe, which is based on $290.3 billion worth of assets under management across 84 corporate, public and university pension plans, found the one-year median […]
In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, institutional investors are increasingly factoring geopolitical risks into portfolio construction, according to John Bai, senior vice-president and chief investment officer at NEI Investments, during a 2023 economic outlook seminar hosted by the Canadian Pension and Benefits Institute on Wednesday. “All of a sudden, geopolitical risks went from […]
Emerging market economies with strong domestic structural growth stories are likely to thrive in the next 10 years, said Alexis Freyeisen, investment strategist for emerging markets equities at AllianceBernstein, during a session at the Canadian Investment Review‘s 2022 Investment Innovation Conference. “There is a lot of negative press around EM and the media likes to […]
Reduced investment in the fossil fuel sector will lead to higher energy prices, encouraging the development of transition technologies, according to Mark Lacey, head of global resource equities and global thematics at Schroders, during a session at the Canadian Investment Review‘s 2022 Investment Innovation Conference. “We’ve been through a massive divestment period that’s been exaggerated […]
The average solvency ratio of Canadian defined benefit pension plans grew by 10 per cent in 2022, according to a new report by Mercer Canada. The report, which looked at the overall 2022 performance of more than 500 Canadian DB plans in the consultancy’s pension database, found the median solvency ratio reached 113 per cent […]