While target-date funds are now a staple in the Canadian defined contribution pension industry, it wasn’t always so. Some of the first employers to bring target-date funds to Canada were George Weston Ltd. and Loblaw Companies Limited, says Alain Malaket, who is currently chief executive officer of InBenefits, but previously oversaw those organizations’ pension and […]
Target-date funds or life-cycle portfolios now represent the most frequently used default investment option for new Canadian DC arrangements. And they are quickly replacing passé default options such as money market funds—which are currently providing a lot of members with negative net returns these days—or balanced funds. Yet it is surprising how many of these pre-packaged, easy-to-use solutions remain quite conservative and basic in how they are constructed.
Diversification is the best reason to include lifecycle funds in DC plans, said Peter Walsh, an institutional portfolio manager with Pyramis Global Advisors, at the third annual DC Investment Forum, Wednesday in Toronto. When it comes down to it, he said, plan members on a whole don’t truly understand diversification. “If they are in […]
• Part one of a two-part series Lifecycle funds—also known as “target date” funds—have made their way into Canada a bit over two years ago. In the U.S., these funds have become very prominent, as they represent an “approved” default investment option under a set of regulatory conditions offering sponsors “safe harbour” against liability. Lifecycle […]