In a world witnessing the migration of economic power and opportunity, emerging and frontier markets around the world have become an established component of an institutional investment plan. However, there is growing recognition not only that traditional approaches to emerging markets (such as investing via market capitalization indexes or investing in actively managed global emerging market funds) may have limitations, but also that markets outside those currently dominating traditional benchmarks may provide compelling opportunities to investors.
A whole new regulatory environment is taking shape for banks and near-bank financial institutions. From an investor’s perspective, the new requirements—regardless of the form that they ultimately assume—will undoubtedly influence the stock and bond markets, the over-the-counter derivatives markets and financial transactions in general.
After posting strong returns in the mid-2000s following the tech bubble, the Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology (CAAT) Pension Plan was hit hard in the 2008 global economic crisis, reporting a -21.7% net rate of return for that year. As a jointly sponsored pension plan with a governance structure that includes lay people, a knee-jerk reaction would have been understandable, but disastrous.
One of the enduring myths in the Canadian pension scene is that we have held onto our DB plans more tenaciously than the rest of the world. While many Canadian companies have indeed switched to DC, the impression remains that the trend is not as pronounced as it is in the U.S. or the U.K. […]
What exactly does Basel III mean for financial institutions and their risk-management practices?
The City of Saint John, New Brunswick was beset last year by debate over its gaping $195 million pension deficit, so bad that a consultant reviewing the plan described it as the worst she's ever seen.
As the year begins, it is instructive for pension fund managers and asset allocators to consider various macro risk scenarios that are not base-case predictions but rather relevant considerations for stress testing portfolios. It can be useful to understand how individual asset classes would react under each scenario and the resulting portfolio performance. As part of this exercise, consider the impact on liabilities and whether the risk scenario would induce pension managers to consider a change to asset allocation to suit the new environment.
Sean McCoy, senior consultant with InterSec Research, looked at what institutional investors are considering for their in portfolios at the CPBI’s Pension Investment Forecast earlier this week.
Pension litigation has been on the rise for many years. A recent decision of the Nova Scotia Supreme Court provides an important reminder to employers and pension plan administrators about the costs and burdens associated with e-mail communications in the context of such litigation.
With DC pension plans continuing to gain prominence as a leading tool for employee retirement saving, Mercer has offered a list of steps plan sponsors can take to improve their offering in 2013.