The Alberta Investment Management Corp. is investing in an Australian agricultural company. The AIMCo and Australian investment management firm New Forests Ltd. will co-own Lawson Grains. The company produces more than 200,000 tonnes of cereals and vegetable oils per year. It operates out of about 100,000 hectares of farmland spread across New South Wales and Western […]
“Plans are, for the first time in a long time, in a position to off-load risk,” says Murray Wright, one of the contributors to LifeWorks Inc.’s monthly report on Canadian pensions. According to Wright, the principal of retirement and financial solutions at LifeWorks, pension chief financial officers are paying particular attention to one number found […]
With many women at risk of outliving their retirement savings, employers can help by educating female employees about their investment options, says Michelle Connell, a chartered financial analyst and owner of Portia Capital Management. Since women are often the primary caregivers, she says they tend to put less money into their retirement accounts than men […]
Broad support for regulating environmental, social and governance-themed investments in Canada has left the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission playing catch-up with its northern neighbour, says Katie Pries (pictured), president and chief executive officer of Northern Trust Canada. “While the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is working through its regulatory plans for ESG investing, Canada […]
The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan returned 3.8 per cent in the first half of 2021, a significant improvement on its negative 0.4 per cent return in the first half of 2020. According to its mid-year report, the Ontario Teachers’ net assets grew to $227.7, up $8.6 billion from the beginning of the year. This is […]
The past year and a half has been characterized by marked change. The move to remote work, industry layoffs and the desire for more robust support left plan sponsors and consultants rapidly altering the ways they work together. Certain trends, such as virtual care, mental-health support, changing retirement needs and industry consolidation have slowly been […]
For the past 15 years, Benefits Canada’s CAP Member Survey has taken the pulse of capital accumulation plan members’ retirement readiness, their knowledge, confidence and satisfaction in their employer-provided CAPs and how their financial wellness is affecting their physical and mental health. Tracking sentiments through the 2008/09 financial crisis, its subsequent recession and recovery and […]
Michel Charron has had a front-row seat for the revolution in the Canadian investment industry’s approach to environmental, social and governance issues. Following the foundation of the United Nation’s principles for responsible investment in 2008, his firm, PBI Actuarial Consultants Inc., immediately signed up. But the concept required explanation for some pension plan sponsors, he […]
At the end of 2020, a year of exceptionally volatile and unpredictable markets due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology pension plan was 119 per cent funded with $3.3 billion in funding reserves and its assets had grown to $15.8 billion from $13.5 billion on Jan. 1, 2020. “In the heart […]
From the rise of cryptocurrency DogeCoin and non-fungible tokens to Reddit members beating hedge fund managers at their own game, 2021 has been an eventful year in the world of retail investing. And while institutional investors might not be betting big on Gamestop Corp. or Elon Musk’s latest cryptocurrency tweet, some have inched closer to […]