Institutional investors around the world are pushing back against a hedge fund practice that isolates up to 10% of an investor’s assets, according to a survey. Credit Suisse’s Annual Hedge Fund Investor Survey, representing a combined US$1 trillion of funds under management, finds that institutional investors are challenging hedge fund managers over redemption fees and […]
Falling asset values and low interest rates conspired to pull down the average funding ratio of Canadian pension funds in 2009, according to research by Greenwich Associates. The consulting firm notes that funding ratios declined to an average of 90% in 2009 from 99% in 2008, partly due to a 17% year-to-year reduction in asset […]
It has been just over a year since equity markets took a sharp turn downward, one of the many casualties of the global economic crisis. Defined benefit (DB) pension plan sponsors are hoping—and in some cases praying—for recovery from the single most damaging financial punch that has ever struck pension plans. The pension bruise is […]
In June 2009, the Ontario Government amended the Regulation to the Pension Benefits Act (Ontario), or PBA, providing most defined benefit pension plan sponsors with solvency funding relief in the first actuarial valuation report filed with an effective date on or after September 30, 2008 (the Solvency Relief Report, or SRR). For a sponsor so […]
One of the good things to come out of the current economic crisis is that pensions are suddenly a hot topic—not just among actuaries, but among the media, politicians, and the general public. In the wake of the financial downturn, many plan members are apprehensive about the future of their pension. At the same time, […]
These unprecedented times have many organizations looking at various ways to reduce their operating costs. Are there any potential savings related to DC (defined contribution) arrangements? To be honest, apart from the obvious reduction of employer contributions, there aren’t many. Going drastic The biggest potential savings by far lie in reducing or eliminating employer contributions. […]
Supplemental Employee Retirement Plans, or SERPs, are an important component of the total rewards package provided to many Canadian employees. To employees who are approaching retirement, a SERP entitlement can confer a significant amount of financial well-being. SERPs were originally created to provide a pension top-up to senior executives, primarily because limitations in the Income […]
There’s no doubt that bringing in a communications consultant at the eleventh hour to help deal with a pension funding crisis is better than not dealing with it at all, but it’s far from ideal. The problem is, no matter how well conceived, how well written, or how skillfully implemented the eleventh-hour communications might be, […]
As a tumultuous 2008 draws to a close, defined benefit (DB) plan sponsors are collectively holding their breath for 2009. By and large, DB plan sponsors remain committed to their plan as the best vehicle to consistently provide an appropriate retirement income for their employees. And, historically, sponsors have been willing to undertake the lion’s […]
A growing number of defined benefit (DB) pension plans are shrugging off their inhibitions and baring all—strategy, objectives, targets and even investment results. Whether it’s an annual member report, a special edition of the company newsletter or an annual member meeting, more and more plans are recognizing and responding to their members’ desire for greater […]