Despite the low interest rate environment, it still makes sense for defined benefit pension plan sponsors to adopt a liability-driven investment strategy, said Serge Lapierre, global head of LDI at Manulife Investment Management, during a webinar sponsored by the firm on Monday. LDI investing is a risk management framework, he noted. “It’s not an asset […]
The Bank of Canada kept its key interest rate on hold Wednesday as it said the country’s economy won’t recoup the losses from the coronavirus until 2022, with the road to recovery dependent on the path of the pandemic. In July, the Bank of Canada said it believed the country had been spared from a […]
In a market rocked by a considerable increase in cross-asset volatility, the need to search for alternative means of diversification that embrace different sources of risk and return is crucial. One solution for pension plan sponsors to consider is investing in insurance-linked securities. Often a misunderstood and underutilized asset class, insurance-linked securities are investments whose […]
Canada’s headline inflation measure went up in September by 0.5 per cent compared with a year ago, a better-than-expected increase, but one that experts say won’t sway the Bank of Canada’s stimulus measures. Economists had, on average, expected a year-over-year increase of 0.4 per cent, according to financial data firm Refinitiv, following readings of 0.1 […]
The head of the European Central Bank says the economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic “risks losing momentum” due to a second wave of infections and that more stimulus could be added if necessary. “The second wave of the pandemic in Europe, notably in France, and the resulting new restrictions are adding to the uncertainty […]
The impact of powerful trends, including aging populations and growing debt levels in the world’s largest economies, has been somewhat mitigated in recent years by the ongoing involvement of central banks in markets and declining interest rates. However, with rates at historic lows, this is not something that can be relied on over the next […]
The governor of the Bank of Canada said managing the risks from the pandemic is more critical than ever and it is key to a recovery and the stability of society. Tiff Macklem said in a Thursday morning speech that a second historic recession in just over a decade underlines how managing financial system risks […]
Long before the global pandemic, jurisdictions across Canada were embarking on pension solvency reform, with some moving from strict 100 per cent solvency funding requirements to going-concern plus models, which incorporate a funding cushion. Low interest rates, which make solvency funding very expensive, have been a key driver pushing the going-concern plus model, says Dean […]
Defined benefit pension plans that were on route to de-risking when the coronavirus hit are facing a difficult road ahead in the current lower-for-longer interest rate environment. However, a new de-risking option is available for plan sponsors that didn’t exist in the wake of the global financial crisis: merging with the Colleges of Applied Arts […]
For the second year in a row, Canada ranked No. 8 among developed nations for retiree well-being, according to Natixis Investment Managers’ annual global retirement index. The index, which provides an overview of the relative well-being and financial security of retirees in 44 countries, examined 18 factors across four categories: finances in retirement, material well-being, […]