The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec generated average returns of negative 5.6 per cent in 2022. “The year 2022 provided an environment filled with several challenges, with spiking inflation, historic interest rate hikes by central banks and rising geopolitical tensions,” said Charles Emond, the Caisse’s president and chief executive officer, during a press briefing […]
More than a quarter (26 per cent) of institutional asset owners expect to use an outsourced chief investment officer in an increased capacity during the next two years, according to a new survey by Cerulli Associates. The survey found 14 per cent of respondents said they’re seeking to establish an OCIO relationship over the next two […]
The Canadian Institute of Actuaries is urging the federal government to reconsider its cessation of real return bond issuances, citing the potential financial impacts to defined benefit pension plans. “We request not only that the decision to cease issuing real return bonds be reconsidered, but also that the annual issuance of real return bonds be […]
The average Canadian defined benefit pension plan lost ground on a solvency and accountancy basis in December, according to LifeWorks Inc.’s latest monthly report. At the end of 2022, the solvency index reached 103.8 per cent, down 3.1 per cent from the end of November. The balance sheet index also fell 2.4 per cent — […]
The average discount rate used by Canadian defined benefit pension plans at the end of 2021 was 0.5 per cent higher than the previous year, according to an annual report from LifeWorks Inc. Drawing from figures submitted by 83 Canadian public DB plans, the report found the average plan used a three per cent discount […]
The use of leverage by U.K. defined benefit pension plans with liability-driven investment strategies left them vulnerable to a sharp rise in bond yields in September, says Erwan Pirou, Canada chief investment officer of wealth solutions at Aon. “Many plans in the U.K. are using leverage in their LDI strategies . . . to reduce […]
Efforts by central banks to reduce inflation could spark a global recession, according to a new report from the World Bank. “If the degree of global monetary policy tightening currently anticipated by markets is not enough to lower inflation to targets, experience from past global recessions suggests that the requisite additional tightening could give rise […]
The Ontario Municipal Employees’ Retirement System is reporting a net investment return of negative 0.4 per cent — or a loss of $500 million — for the first half of 2022. During the period, the OMERS earned a net investment return of six per cent — or a gain of $6.7 billion — after reporting […]
While institutional investors are no strangers to established markets such as Europe and the U.S., the world’s emerging and frontier markets can provide diversification and opportunities for lucrative returns. Not surprisingly, events such as the coronavirus pandemic and a shifting geopolitical landscape are influencing these decisions in 2022 and beyond. In recent months, Russia’s invasion […]
The European Central Bank is expected to raise interest rates for the first time since 2011. In a statement, the bank said it plans to raise interest rates by 25 points on July 21, from negative 0.5 per cent to negative 0.25 per cent. The decision comes in response to inflationary pressures, which hit 8.1 […]