The median solvency ratio for Ontario defined benefit pension plans remained stable at 122 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2024, according to a new report by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario. It noted throughout 2024, the median solvency funded status remained above 120 per cent, the highest percentage since the FSRA […]
Home-country bias is a conversation that ebbs and flows, with U.S. investment returns since the 2008/09 financial crisis reigniting the conversation, said Jon Knowles, institutional portfolio manager in global asset allocation at Fidelity Investments. However, it’s important to ask how to appropriately deal with home-country bias against a backdrop where one market and limited diversification […]
An emerging trend in U.S. defined contribution investment strategies is the ‘blend trend,’ which is a target-date solution that allocates to underlying building blocks that are managed both actively and passively. During a session at Benefits Canada’s 2025 DC Plan Summit, Jessica Sclafani, global retirement strategist at T. Rowe Price, shared data from the investment […]
Amid all of the Canadian industries impacted by tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump, targeting the production of aluminum shows a misunderstanding of the industry, said Douglas Porter, chief economist and managing director at BMO Financial Group, during a session at Benefits Canada’s 2025 Defined Contribution Plan Summit on Feb. 28. “Frankly, not to […]
Global government bond returns finished January on a positive note, buoyed by expectations of further quantitative easing, such as in Canada, the E.U. and the U.K., or rates staying the same, such as in the U.S., according to a new report by FTSE Russell. It found long Canadian real returns were up 2.6 per cent, […]
Yields for long-term Canadian government bonds rose in December on the heels of aggressive rate cuts by the Bank of Canada, according to a new report by FTSE Russell. It found a bear curve steepening resumed in December, following the Bank of Canada’s 50 basis-point rate cut, as long yields rose and two-year yields were […]
The Bank of Canada will require another year of its rate-cutting cycle to absorb the number of resources in the economy that aren’t being used so it can raise interest rates back to a neutral 2.75 per cent position, according to Katherine Judge, director and senior economist of capital markets at CIBC. Delivering the keynote session […]
In response to proposed legislation that would introduce the option of variable life benefits in Ontario, the Association of Canadian Pension Management is recommending against regulating plan sponsors to disclose an expected rate of return on contributions made to a variable life benefits fund. In an open letter to the provincial Ministry of Finance, the […]
While global pension plan sponsors’ assets grew by 10 per cent to reach US$63.1 trillion in 2023, this value is still five per cent lower than in 2021, according to a new report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. It found this growth was largely attributed to gains in equity markets last year […]
The average funded position of defined benefit pension plans in Ontario was 121 per cent in the third quarter of 2024, down just two per cent from the previous quarter, according to a new report by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario. It attributed this decrease to a drop in discount rates from the previous […]
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