Defined benefit pension plan sponsors using overlay strategies will gain more flexibility amid rising inflation now that the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions has released guidance allowing them to disregard the overlay when measuring going-concern liabilities, says James Koo, a partner in Aon’s wealth solutions division. In May 2022, the OSFI raised the maximum […]
Ontario’s defined benefit pension funds returned an average 2.9 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2022 while plan liabilities continued to benefit from a rising interest rate environment, according to the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario’s latest solvency report. It also found the majority of plans remained fully funded on a solvency basis […]
Amid the unprecedented events of the last three years, the Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology pension plan has remained on course with its investment strategies, according to Asif Haque, the plan’s chief investment officer. “We held our focus on the key goal of the CAAT’s investment program. . . . The plan’s diversified asset […]
Finance’s toughest problem just got a whole lot trickier, thanks to the quandary of inflation. Legendary economist William F. Sharpe sealed his place in history when he collected the 1990 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his work on investment decision-making, but in defined contribution pension circles, the emeritus professor at Stanford University is […]
When Tye McAllister was in middle school, he received a life-changing gift from his father — The Wealthy Barber, a practical guide to financial planning by Canadian investor David Chilton. “Investing became a passion,” says McAllister, senior analyst of pension investments and treasury at ATCO Group of Companies. “I was always trying to pull together […]
Despite the challenging economic environment, Canadian defined benefit pension plans saw a median return of 4.27 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2022, according to BNY Mellon’s Canadian master trust universe. The universe, which is based on $290.3 billion worth of assets under management across 84 corporate, public and university pension plans, found the one-year median […]
Nearly two-thirds of institutional investors say they’re planning to increase their allocations to real assets over the next two years, amid a backdrop of inflation and sustainability challenges, according to a survey by Aviva Investors. The survey, which polled 500 institutional investors from around the world, found nearly half (47 per cent) said they have […]
The Pension Investment Association of Canada is urging the federal government to reconsider the cessation of real return bond issuances, citing potential financial impacts to defined benefit pension plans and members. In an open letter to the Ministry of Finance, the PIAC said the decision was made “without fulsome consultation or warning” and impacts pension […]
“I’m starting to become a glass half full person. . . . I think that at least one of the two anchors of the 60/40 [balanced portfolio] is going to start working. I wish I could tell you which one,” said Jurrien Timmer, director of global macro at Fidelity Investments, during a session at the […]
The uncertainty about the direction interest rates will move in 2023 means defined benefit pension plan sponsors should be reconsidering their asset allocation strategies, says Ben Ukonga, principal at Mercer. “I don’t think anybody knows when, or if, interest rates will come down. If [inflation] comes down, the Bank of Canada’s likely to stop increasing […]