Increased deal-making in the Canadian annuities market is adding pressure to defined benefit plan sponsors seeking to de-risk their plans, says Jason Vary, president of Actuarial Solutions Inc. “[The market is] getting worse,” he says. “This year, I’ve had some experiences where we’re placing some small annuities, under $5 million, and we really struggled to […]
With 15 different client organizations, including nine public sector pension plans, the Alberta Investment Management Corp. has opted to engage, rather than divest, from certain investments, particularly those in the energy sector. “One of the things we were very clear on, both for ourselves and in talking to clients, is that divestment wasn’t the way […]
By focusing on biodiversity, institutional investors are helping to tackle the climate crisis, says Jane Ambachtsheer, global head of sustainability at BNP Paribas Asset Management. “When we talk about the biodiversity crisis from an economic perspective, we’re talking about a significant portion of global [gross domestic product], which is reliant on nature to some extent,” she […]
While political tensions have recently flared between Canada and India, institutional investors are unlikely to adjust their capital allocation to the country, says Partha Mohanram, John H. Watson chair in value investing at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. “I don’t [have] any indication that you’re going to see any kind […]
The risk associated with high-profile name concentration in technology equities is pushing institutional investors to consider risk-mitigating strategies, according to Nick Zylkowski, managing director and co-head of customized portfolio solutions at Russell Investments Ltd., speaking during a session at the Canadian Investment Review’s 2024 Risk Management Conference. He noted investors are reviewing their exposure to […]
The fundamentals of the Canadian housing market are incredibly strong because they’re underpinned by a significant imbalance of supply and demand that will be present for many years to come, said Michael Tsourounis, managing partner and head of real estate at Hazelview Investments, during the Canadian Investment Review’s 2024 Risk Management Conference. Any time there’s an imbalance […]
The Investment Management Corp. of Ontario is making its strategic allocation decisions based on a guideline of worldwide events that will shape investment themes for decades to come. Speaking during a session at the Canadian Investment Review’s 2024 Risk Management Conference, Nick Chamie (pictured left), the IMCO’s chief strategist and senior managing director of total portfolio […]
Institutional investors are missing opportunities to use artificial intelligence for effective decision-making, according to Ruslan Goyenko, an associate professor of finance at McGill University, speaking during a session at the Canadian Investment Review’s 2024 Risk Management Conference. He urged investment leaders to push beyond traditional fundamentals and open their minds to the use of AI. […]
When communicating risk management posturing to executive boards, it’s important for pension plan sponsors to tell a cohesive and fulsome story, said Danny Ip, director of investment risk and analytics for the Toronto Transit Commission Pension Plan, during the Canadian Investment Review‘s 2024 Risk Management Conference. The TTC plan, which has $8.7 billion in assets under management, has […]
Overseeing the transition of a single-employer pension plan to a jointly sponsored one felt at times like launching a startup firm, according to Theo Heldman, chief financial officer and vice-president of risk at the Workplace Insurance and Safety Employee Trust, speaking during a session at the Canadian Investment Review’s 2024 Risk Management Conference. “There was […]