With environmental, social and governance issues becoming more prominent among investors, it’s important to consider what sustainability means for DC plans. Plan sponsors are facing somewhat conflicting objectives, said Christine Girvan, senior managing director and head of Canadian distribution at MFS Investment Management, during a session at Benefits Canada‘s 2020 DC Plan Summit in Montreal […]
Digital is the new normal for committee and board meetings, so people must get used to it, says Rahul Bhardwaj, president and chief executive officer, of the Institute of Corporate Directors. Pension plan sponsors are under lots of strain in the current environment. “You want to make sure that you have efficient, effective meetings that […]
The coronavirus pandemic is hastening certain trends that institutional investors incorporating environmental, social and governance issues have been eyeing for some time. One trend is the democratization of technology, which Catherine Flockhart, a director at Baillie Gifford, says her firm has been positioned for in certain strategies. While many point to the sudden increase in […]
Two big players in the investment research space are joining forces. Morningstar Inc., a U.S.-based independent research firm is fully acquiring Sustainalytics, a Dutch-domiciled firm specializing in environmental, social, and governance ratings and research. Morningstar already took on a 40 per cent ownership stake in Sustainalytics in 2017 and will be buying the remaining 60 […]
The Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System is appointing Bob Aziz as its new chief operating officer and Michael Kelly as its chief legal and corporate affairs officer. In the new role, effective April 20, Aziz will have oversight of the OMERS’ data and technology, privacy, government relations and global operations teams. He’ll also join the organization’s senior executive team […]
With coronavirus causing market volatility and an increase in the size of solvency liabilities, pension plans are feeling the impact. One potential way for plan sponsors to ease the pain is by performing an early actuarial valuation to capture year-end 2019 numbers. Most Canadian jurisdictions require plans to file valuations every three years, however a […]
Despite the key differences between sovereign wealth funds and public pension plans, the two institutional investors are quite similar in that they’re large, state-owned, sophisticated pools of capital. However, on average, the two types of organizations approach their real estate investments differently, according to a new paper by McKay Price, Collins-Goodman chair in real estate […]
To stay on the cutting edge of environmental, social and governance integration, institutional investors have to expand their focus beyond the factors that are material to a company’s operations today and look ahead at what’s around the corner. According to a report by the World Economic Forum, this is becoming an integral part of investors’ analysis. “To […]
Across the country, public pension plans are releasing statements to assure members that their defined benefit pensions are secure and that they’re taking measures to protect the health and safety of their own staff. The Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology pension plan said it regularly tests operations and will continue to make pension payments. […]
The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan is appointing Cindy Forbes to its board, effective immediately. Currently, Forbes is global chief analytics officer at Manulife Financial Corp. and held an interim role as its global chief marketing officer for the past 10 months. She also spent six years as the company’s chief actuary. In addition, during more than 35 […]