The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board plans to nearly double the size of its credit holdings over the next five years, according to reporting by Bloomberg. Andrew Edgell, the CPPIB’s global head of credit investments, said the fund expects to have more than $115 billion in credit assets by 2029, compared with about $62 billion […]
An article on the federal government’s financial sanctions against the Canada Life Assurance Co. following delayed benefits access for public employees was the most-read article on BenefitsCanada.com. Here are the top five human resources, benefits, pension and investment stories of the past week: 1. Canada Life facing gov’t financial sanctions following delayed benefits access for public […]
The Independent Electricity System Operator’s pension plan is in the midst of a comeback from a period of heightened post-coronavirus pandemic volatility, with diversification as the key to its investment roadmap, says Jeannette Briggs, the organization’s director of corporate finance and who served as chair of its pension management committee from 2021 to 2023. After […]
While real assets are largely absent among the investment options offered by Canadian defined contribution pension plans, they can offer significant long-term benefits to plan members, said Andrew Knox, managing director of Franklin Templeton Investments’ global real assets fund, during a session at Benefits Canada’s 2024 DC Plan Summit in February. “[Defined contribution] investors in […]
The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and Gildan Activewear Inc. have reached an agreement that will see the Montreal-based apparel manufacturer issue $200 million in senior unsecured notes on a private placement basis to the investment organization. Gildan will issue notes with an annual interest rate of six per cent and will mature […]
The recent pressure put on Canadian pensions plans from private managers and governments to re-discover an investment home bias has been met with little enthusiasm, despite special interest by both federal and provincial governments to potentially tap pension fund capital for infrastructure given that current expenditure eats up a large share of the budget. Infrastructure […]
Four in 10 (39 per cent) Canadian institutional investors say they have either direct or indirect exposure to cryptocurrency, according to a new survey by KPMG in Canada and the Canadian Association of Alternative Assets and Strategies. The survey, which 31 institutional investors and 34 financial services organizations, found three-quarters (75 per cent) of institutional […]
The average Canadian defined benefit pension plan posted a median return of 3.6 per cent in the first quarter of 2024, according to a new report by RBC Investor Services. The report, which tracks performance and asset allocation across Canadian DB plans, credited the positive investment return to the strong performance of equities. Read: Average […]
Environmental, social and governance standards have helped investors generate positive annualized returns, with environmental investments leading the pack globally, according to a new study from Amundi Asset Management. The study reviewed the annualized financial returns of long-short portfolios designed with a broad ESG theme and a more specialized approach in North America, Europe, China, India, […]
A story on how private payers are implementing preferred pharmacy networks to reduce benefits plan costs was the most-read story on BenefitsCanada.com this week. Here are the top five human resources, benefits, pension and investment stories of the past week: 1. More private payers seeking to reduce costs turning to preferred pharmacy networks: expert 2. Chipotle expanding […]