While massive monetary policy response didn’t drive inflation following the 2008/09 financial crisis, institutional investors are mulling over whether things may be different this time. The global economy has rarely seen such a swift willingness to engage with economic calamity on both monetary and fiscal levels, says Erik Weisman, chief economist and fixed income portfolio manager at MFS […]
With volatility rattling public markets, fundraising for private equity deals took a tumble during the first quarter of 2020, according to a new report by the Callan Institute, which found fund closing dropped 39 per cent since the last quarter of 2019, while commitments were down 37 per cent. Many institutional investors suddenly find themselves over-allocated to […]
The Investment Management Corp. of Ontario reached $70.3 billion in assets under management at the end of 2019, up from $63.3 billion at the end of 2018. In its latest annual report, the organization, which manages assets for certain broader public sector institutions, shared its growth in assets under management, but didn’t report its 2019 investment returns. “It’s important […]
Global institutional investors say they intend to gently reduce their average new capital commitments to real estate in 2020. According to a new report by Institutional Real Estate Inc. and Kingsley Associates, survey respondents said they’re reducing their new spend by an average of 11 per cent this year. Notably, the survey was conducted between Nov. 12, […]
With the task force on climate-related financial disclosures becoming increasingly common in institutional investor circles, how can Canadian pension plans start to use its guidance effectively? During a webinar hosted by the Association of Canadian Pension Management on Tuesday, Maria Montero, climate change program head at the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, said her organization […]
When central banks took on the challenge of saving a drowning global economy during the 2008 financial crisis, pension plans appeared to have plenty to be thankful for. However, as the U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank embark on their latest round of monetary stimulus, these policy changes mean pension plans are now […]
While the fact that past performance is not a guarantee of future results is a familiar refrain, it appears public pension funds’ return expectations do correlate with how they’ve performed in the past. A paper by Aleksandar Andonov, an associate professor of finance at the University of Amsterdam and Joshua Rauh, director of research and […]
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board saw a 2.3 per cent return, net of all costs, in the second quarter of its 2020 fiscal year for its base account and a 1.9 per cent return for its additional account. “CPPIB continued to deliver steady returns this quarter,” said Mark Machin, president and chief executive officer of […]
A defined contribution plan sponsor’s strategic decisions around asset allocation are far more influential to the performance of the pension portfolio than security selection or timing investments. “The strategic decision is very important in terms of long-term results and the long-term experience of your plan members,” said Chhad Aul, vice-president of portfolio management at Sun […]
A professor of finance at York University has developed a new tool to help people who are saving for retirement through multiple vehicles ensure that when looking at their portfolios in total these are well-diversified. The tool, Wealthscope, was developed by Pauline Shum Nolan, who is also a member of the university pension fund’s investment […]