Portfolio measurement is usually performed by the calculation of returns. But returns alone do not describe the performance of a portfolio. It is essential to calculate portfolio risk in order to understand the degree of risk a portfolio manager takes in order to achieve those returns. In this article we will explore two different timings […]
Interview with Ian Markham, Canadian Retirement Innovation Leader at Towers Watson Q: Are DB plans threatened? A: Yes, they are under threat. If you were to go back 20 years, the people who were generally making decisions were HR officers, because pension plans were seen as a significant part of total compensation. But then the […]
In the 1970s, a pension committee appointed to provide oversight for a DB plan might only have met once a year under a simple mandate, often only addressing fund performance review. Now, many plans have more complicated designs, with multiple and complex assets classes that need more frequent and diligent review. Committees now deal with […]
The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) has issued a draft stress testing guideline for plans with DB provisions. The guideline provides general information to plan administrators on stress testing, including the types of scenarios that could be considered and OSFI’s expectations regarding the use and frequency of stress testing as a risk-management tool. […]
Early in the year, a client asked us “What would be the best DC plan?” My first reaction was that the “best” plan would vary from one employer to the next, depending on the organization’s specific objectives. These objectives really should determine how your plan works, and ultimately, be used to measure the plan’s success. […]
There’s no question that designing, communicating and administering a DC pension plan is complex. So why was Keep it Simple the theme of this year’s DC Plan Summit? Because among other discouraging statistics, 36% of people surveyed in a recent Ipsos poll spend less than five minutes understanding the information in their statements, explained Anna […]
The Public Service Alliance of Canada has appealed an October decision by the Ontario Court of Appeal which had dismissed the union’s case against the federal government for expropriating $28 billion from the federal superannuation fund. The union charges that the government “raided” surplus from the public service, RCMP and Canadian Forces pension plans by […]
What does the future hold for your DB plan? Take our poll. One of the most important lessons that plan sponsors have learned from the financial crisis is that liabilities and assets need to be better matched, as mentioned in the February 17 article The future of DB: currency hedging?. But Ryan Kuruliak, vice-president with […]
That esteemed financial guru, Yogi Berra, once said, “You’ve got to be very careful if you don’t know where you are going, because you might not get there.” I have it on good authority that Berra was referring specifically to pension fund investing when he made this comment, which would explain why so many defined […]
The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) is donating $10,000 to support the Hamilton, Ont. steelworkers who have been locked out of their jobs since last November by U.S. Steel, a release from ETFO announced today. U.S. Steel is trying to de-index its workers’ pensions and wants to close its defined benefit pension plan to […]