The funded position of a typical Canadian defined benefit pension plan rose on both a solvency and accounting basis in April, according to Telus Health’s latest pension index. It found the solvency of the average DB plan rose to 106.4 per cent in April, up from 106 per cent in March. The accounting index, which […]
The federal government’s promise to encourage Canadian institutional investors to invest more domestically is taking shape with two key initiatives found in the 2024 budget. The first involves the creation of a working group led by Stephen Poloz, former Governor of the Bank of Canada, to explore domestic opportunities for Canadian institutional investors in various […]
The Mastercard Foundation is launching an asset management company to build and manage a diversified portfolio to help fund its philanthropic mission. The Mastercard Foundation Asset Management Corp. will be overseen by John Barker, who will serve as its chief investment officer. He previously served as CIO at Mass General Brigham and as managing director […]
The City of Montreal, which manages the joint fund of the city’s municipal employees’ retirement plan, says it intends to withdraw all investments from fossil fuel assets, according to a report by the Canadian Press. Read: 91% of Canadian institutional investors say climate change is top ESG concern: survey “This commitment is a first concrete step […]
Greenhushing — the withholding of sustainability milestones and other environmental investment goals by institutional investors and investee companies — is a trend that could already be on the way out, says Mary Jane McQuillen, head of environmental, social and governance investing at ClearBridge Investments, a subsidiary of Franklin Templeton Investments. The effects of greenhushing are expected […]
The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec is among a group of investors providing up to €750 million in financing to Vantage Data Centers. The Caisse and Ares Management are each contributing up to €300 million, while Schroders Capital’s private debt and credit alternatives team is contributing up to €150 million. The investment will […]
An article on the value that deferred profit-sharing plans can offer to small- and medium-sized employers was the most-read article on Benefits Canada.com this week. Here are the top five human resources, benefits, pensions and investment stories of the past week: 1. Sounding Board: How DPSPs can support SMEs’ retirement, talent management goals 2. CPPIB wants to […]
Amid a challenging private market fundraising landscape, the flow of co-investment deals increased dramatically in 2023, according to a report by alternative investment management and advisory firm Hamilton Lane. The report found the total value of co-investment deal flows reached US$8.87 billion in 2023, an increase from US$5.21 billion in 2022. The fourth quarter of […]
Institutional investors are limiting portfolio diversification through overexposure to a selected group of U.S. technology stocks, says Alec Murray, senior vice-president and head of equity client portfolio managers at Amundi Asset Management. Since the beginning of 2023, he says, public equities have offered strong returns largely due to the performance of a concentrated group of technology […]
The British Columbia Investment Management Corp. is selling more than US$1 billion worth of private equity funds to Ardian, a France-based independent private equity investment company, according to reporting by Bloomberg. Although it’s unclear which assets the BCI intends to sell, last June, Bloomberg also reported the investment manager was considering the sale of roughly $2 […]