In September 2010, I wrote about extreme risks—those potential events that are unlikely to occur, but if they did, would have a significant impact on economic growth and asset returns.
Strong asset returns and no change in liabilities in October drove a 4.7 percentage-point increase in the funded status of the typical U.S. corporate pension plan, according to BNY Mellon Asset Management. The increase, fueled by strong performances in the equity markets, brought the funded status for the typical plan to 74.8%. Year-to-date, the funded […]
Ignoring increasing calls to step down, Greece’s prime minister announced Thursday he would seek emergency talks with the opposition conservatives after they agreed to back the latest European bailout for Greece. Prime Minister George Papandreou, speaking at an emergency Cabinet meeting, warned that an early election was too dangerous because it would force Greece into […]
After five consecutive months of negative returns, equity funds in Canada produced strong gains in October as general optimism seemed to return—albeit temporarily—to the world’s stock markets. All but one of the 22 Morningstar Canada Fund Indices that track equity categories had positive returns for the month, with 14 of them gaining 5% or more, […]
The third quarter of 2011 turned out to be one of the roughest on record for active managers, according to the most recent Russell Active Manager Report, which is produced quarterly and is based on recently released data from over 140 money manager products. Only 40% of large cap Canadian equity investment managers beat the […]
U.S. institutional investment plan sponsors lost 9% at the median in the third quarter of 2011, according to Northern Trust’s Universe database. The loss ends a streak of four consecutive quarters with positive results. The Northern Trust Universe represents the performance of about 300 large institutional investment plans, with a combined asset value of approximately […]
The market volatility of the past six months has rattled many investors, according to a Leger Marketing survey for BMO InvestorLine. Thirty-one percent of respondents said they were concerned that there is no end in sight to the rollercoaster ride they’ve experienced this year. Over half of Canadian investors (53%) are concerned that America’s and […]
U.S. workers can expect modest pay raises averaging 2.8% next year, compared to 2.7% in 2011 and 2.9% in 2010, according to a survey by Buck Consultants. The Compensation Planning for 2012 survey also found that 80% percent of respondents have a pay-for-performance philosophy, down from 87% last year. “Our research into pay practices reveals […]
More and more institutional investment managers are expecting the worst. They believe corporate earnings will decline, U.S. economic growth will slow and the European debt crisis will spill over to other areas of the market, this according to a survey by Northern Trust. Survey respondents also see U.S. equities as undervalued, but see investment opportunities […]
Originally from our sister publication, Advisor.ca. As risk aversion continues to haunt equity markets, corporate credit risk looks reasonably good. Despite deleveraging and a prolonged economic decline that threatens to take down companies, investing in corporate bonds might be a worthwhile alternative to equities. With about 10,000 issuers and an increasing number of emerging markets […]