Despite rising concerns about inflation and the war in Ukraine, the funded position of a typical Canadian defined benefit pension plan improved slightly on both a solvency and accounting basis in February, according to a new report by LifeWorks Inc. In February, the solvency of the average DB pension plan rose by half a per […]
In response to the ongoing war in Ukraine, more Canadian public sector institutional investors are announcing plans to exclude Russian assets from their portfolios. The Investment Management Corp. of Ontario and the Ontario Pension Board will divest their portfolios of existing Russian assets as soon as possible. Efforts to immediately divest are currently impossible as […]
The Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System returned 15.7 per cent for 2021, a significant increase on its 2020 return. In its annual report, the OMERS said four key factors drove the outperformance relative to its benchmark, which was 6.6 per cent — its portfolio of public equities returned 20.7 per cent; its private equity businesses grew […]
The Alberta Investment Management Corp. is appointing Sandra Lau and James Barber as co-chief investment officers, effective March 1. The pair will succeed Dale MacMaster, who is retiring from the organization after 23 years. Lau will also be head of public investments, responsible for bringing together fixed income, mortgages and public equities, while Barber will be […]
North American stock markets plunged after opening to news that Russian forces have launched a new military offensive in Ukraine. In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 624.50 points at 32,507.26. The S&P 500 index was down 49.24 points at 4,176.26 and the Nasdaq composite index was down 70.20 points at 12,967.28. […]
The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec saw overall returns of 13.5 per cent in 2021, its best performance since 2010. By the end of last year, the institutional investor’s managed assets reached $419.8 billion, up from $342 billion at the beginning of the year. The Caisse exceeded its own performance expectations by about […]
The California Public Employees’ Pension Retirement System is appointing Nicole Musicco as its new chief investment officer, effective March 28. She joins the CalPERS from RedBird Capital Partners, where she led the firm’s Canadian investment business. Previously, she managed the private markets investment program at the Investment Management Corp. of Ontario. She also spent 16 years […]
A Danish defined benefit pension fund is ceasing its investments in Russian assets following recent developments in the ongoing crisis between the world’s largest nation and Ukraine. On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced his government would recognize the independence of two territories in eastern Ukraine: Donetsk and Luhansk. In response, the AkademikerPension, a US$23 […]
As a nuclear power provider, Bruce Power’s culture emphasizes the importance of risk-averseness. This is reflected in the company’s efforts to secure the indexed benefits offered to its 6,500 defined benefit pension plan members. “We have many, many checks and balances in place — not just on the operational side, but also when it comes […]
The median return of Canadian defined benefit pension plans was 4.11 per cent for the fourth quarter of 2021, the seventh consecutive positive quarterly return following the initial reaction to the coronavirus pandemic in the first quarter of 2020. BNY Mellon Asset Management Canada Ltd.’s master trust universe, which comprises 84 Canadian corporate, public and […]