When two U.S. banks failed this month, among the investors who lost millions were U.S. public sector pension funds responsible for ensuring the retirements of teachers, firefighters and other government workers. Since the pension funds are diversified investors whose holdings in Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank were small portions of their portfolios, experts aren’t […]
“I’m going to start my presentation by saying what any self-respecting consultants say all the time — we got it wrong,” said Andrew Bishop, senior partner and global head of policy research at Signum Global Advisors, during a session at the Canadian Investment Review‘s 2022 Defined Benefit Investment Forum. “I’m referring to China’s easing of […]
The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board is appointing Anna Murray as its senior managing director and global head of sustainable investing. In the new role, she’ll work with the pension plan’s total fund management investment division. She’ll also be responsible for the execution of the Ontario Teachers’ climate strategy and will oversee the continued integration […]
Slightly more than a third (35 per cent) of U.S. institutional investors are incorporating environmental, social and governance factors into investment decisions, down from a high of 49 per cent in 2021, according to a new survey by investment consulting firm Callan. The survey, which polled more than 100 institutional investors, found 50 per cent […]
The University Pension Plan is appointing Brian Gill as its chief technology officer. In the new role, Gill will oversee the teams responsible for the UPP’s strategic initiatives, technology infrastructure, data analytics and business intelligence. He’ll also be involved in shaping the organization’s strategic and operational direction by providing input on a wide spectrum of […]
The number of global indexes increased 4.43 per cent this year, led by environmental, social and governance indexes, which grew to new records, according to a new survey by the Index Industry Association. Although overall growth for 2022 slightly trailed 2021’s pace of nearly five per cent for the industry, the number of ESG indexes […]
Canadian defined benefit pension plans saw a median return of 0.27 per cent for the third quarter of 2022 amid a challenging economic environment, according to the BNY Mellon Canadian master trust universe. The universe, which is designed to provide peer comparisons by plan type and size, comprises 80 Canadian corporate public and university pension […]
The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec is investing a potential US$339 million in a renewable energy company in Japan. According to a press release, the investment will allow Shizen Energy Inc. to accelerate its ongoing renewable power plant development activities, business enhancement initiatives in energy digitalization and human capital expansion in key markets. […]
The first issue of Benefits Canada hit the desks of the country’s human resources, benefits, pension and investment professionals in 1977, four years before I was born. That same year, Canada’s inflation rate was eight per cent, very close to July 2022’s annualized inflation rate of 7.6 per cent. A lot has changed in 45 […]
As a fresh-faced elementary school student in 1977, Aaron Bennett wasn’t quite in the target demographic for the freshly launched Benefits Canada magazine. Still, Bennett — now the chief investment officer at Ontario’s University Pension Plan — has a pretty firm grasp on the concerns that would have occupied the minds of his predecessors as […]