Four types of new habits and perspectives are expected to define the post-coronavirus era and could impact investment portfolios, according to new analysis by Thinking Ahead, the thought leadership lab at the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. The research, co-authored by Caitlin Walsh, senior portfolio manager, and Ruby Grewal, portfolio manager, analyzed the breadth of […]
Long-term engagement with companies on environmental, social and governance issues has been touted as a route to impact positive change, but a new paper from the Alternative Investment Management Association is arguing that short selling has a role to play in the realm of ESG. “Short selling can be an excellent tool for achieving two common […]
The value of assets held by Canadian trusteed pension funds fell 3.3 per cent to $2.02 trillion in the first quarter of 2020, according to new data from Statistics Canada. Despite the quarterly drop, the funds posted a year-over-year increase of 2.5 per cent. Statistics Canada’s update noted the overall decrease in the quarter was […]
Guardian Capital Group Ltd. is acquiring a 70 per cent interest in U.S.-based investment management firm Agincourt Capital Management. The acquisition, which is expected to add almost US$7 billion to Guardian’s assets under management, aims to further diversify the firm’s assets under management by geography and investment solutions. “We’re very pleased to partner with the […]
As the global economy slogs through one of the most dire situations in living memory, some predict it will bounce right back to its old self, while others aren’t so sure. Janet Rabovsky, independent investment consultant With lockdown restrictions lifting, Canadians are wondering how quickly the economy may rebound. While none of us have a […]
The rallying cry that China is simply too significant a part of the world’s economy to leave out of a well-diversified portfolio is about to be last year’s cliché. For the moment, the country remains the second largest economic engine in the world, but its stunning growth in just the past few years has investors […]
Over the last several years, a small group of faculty members at the University of British Columbia has been calling on its pension plan’s board of trustees to consider divesting from fossil fuels. As support for divestment grew, the board of the UBC faculty pension plan, which is defined contribution, agreed to assess whether there […]
Looking at public equity market charts for the year so far, many form a V-shape. In these V-shaped situations of rapid decline followed almost immediately by a strong recovery, two very different investment scenarios can prove beneficial, according to a recent blog by Reka Janosik, vice-president at MSCI Research and Thomas Verbraken, the organization’s executive […]
Nova Scotia Pension Services Corp. finished 2019 with almost $12 billion in assets under management and reported sharply diverging year-end results for the two pension plans it manages. The Nova Scotia Teachers’ Pension Plan, which ended its fiscal year on Dec. 31, 2019, had a 12.36 per cent net return, as reported in late April. The TPP […]
The current market environment has the potential for long-term effects on the defined benefit pension investment industry, according to a new report by Cerulli Associates. Broadly, investment consultants said they’ve been preparing their DB pension plan sponsor clients for a potential downturn for up to two years, noted the report. And, as plans have begun […]