While it’s common practice for pension plan sponsors to factor climate risk into investment strategies, there’s more work to be done on factoring climate change into mortality and morbidity assumptions, says Bernard Morency, past chair of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries’ public affairs council and co-chair of its climate change and sustainability steering committee. “As […]
In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, institutional investors are increasingly factoring geopolitical risks into portfolio construction, according to John Bai, senior vice-president and chief investment officer at NEI Investments, during a 2023 economic outlook seminar hosted by the Canadian Pension and Benefits Institute on Wednesday. “All of a sudden, geopolitical risks went from […]
Nearly two-thirds of institutional investors say they’re planning to increase their allocations to real assets over the next two years, amid a backdrop of inflation and sustainability challenges, according to a survey by Aviva Investors. The survey, which polled 500 institutional investors from around the world, found nearly half (47 per cent) said they have […]
Acera Insurance is merging with Fairfield Watson Inc., a Calgary-based consulting firm specializing in employee benefits, insurance and retirement. The new company will retain the Acera name with Tony Fairfield, founding partner of Fairfield Watson, serving as president of group benefits. The merger will strengthen Acera’s ability to provide insurance, group benefits and risk mitigation solutions across Canada, […]
The Pension Investment Association of Canada is urging the Canadian Securities Administrators to work closely with its international counterparts to ensure consistency in regulations on climate-related disclosure. In an open letter to the Ontario Securities Commission, the PIAC called on the CSA to align its climate regulations with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and […]
“What we’ve observed year to date is nothing short of historic in nature,” said Steve Guignard, senior director of client solutions at Sun Life Capital Management, referring to the poor performance of the FTSE Canada Universe Bond Index, which dipped 12 per cent in 2022. “The market’s erratic and unpredictable behaviour is very similar to […]
The most important asset in the world is people’s personal information because every piece of data that we provide to the internet through social media or through interactions with pension funds and online banking are valuable information sources, said Darace Rose, co-founder and chief technology officer at Oppos Inc., during the Canadian Investment Review’s 2022 […]
Similar to 2022, the coming year will present both challenges and opportunities for defined benefit pension plan sponsors, with the rewards going to plan sponsors that are resilient, embrace change and are willing and able to act when opportunities arise. Several trends that will be top of mind in the year ahead are: Inflation The […]
An article on how Canada compares to other countries in terms of its vacation day offering was the most-read story on BenefitsCanada.com over the last week. Here are the five most popular news stories of the week: 1. Canada ranks 39 out of 43 countries for vacation day offering: report 2. Coke Canada expanding coverage for mental-health, family-building […]
In January, the Canadian Association of Pension Supervisory Authorities established a new committee with a mandate to develop a risk management guidance. In the CAPSA’s view, by having an adequate system for managing risks, “plan administrators are better positioned to keep pension assets safe and protect the plan from adverse risks.” Coinciding with this initiative, […]