A story on how the federal government is considering ending Canada’s ’30 per cent rule’ was the most-read investment story on BenefitsCanada.com this year. Here are the 10 most popular investment news stories of 2023: 1. Feds consider end of ‘30% rule’ for pensions, propose EI adoption benefit: fall economic statement 2. Uptick in U.S. commercial office real estate […]
Before Janet Jule joined the Saskatchewan Healthcare Employees’ Pension Plan as its chief investment officer in 2015, the pension plan sponsor started adding a wider variety of assets to its portfolio, emphasizing diversification and lowering its dependence on equities. Indeed, like many other plan sponsors, the SHEPP’s investment strategy is increasingly incorporating more alternative asset […]
The Pension Investment Association of Canada is calling on the B.C. Financial Services Authority to reconsider implementing new standards for climate-related risks analysis guidelines, noting it would be extremely challenging for most pension plans to meet a potential new climate and transition risk review system. In an open letter, the PIAC recommended a principles-based approach to […]
U.S.-based defined benefit pension plan sponsors are increasingly looking to assess their liability-driven investment strategies as they reach fully funded statuses, according to a new study by Coalition Greenwich and commissioned by Franklin Templeton. The study found nearly three-quarters (73 per cent) of pension plan sponsors reported funding ratios of 100 per cent or higher, […]
Interest rate levels are critically important to the financial health of defined benefit pension plans. Many DB plans are in their best financial positions in decades, largely due to the dramatic rise in interest rates over the past few years, but decreases in interest rates could pose a major risk for many plans. Changes in […]
The Association of Canadian Pension Management is urging the federal government to reverse its position on the cessation of real return bonds and open a stakeholder consultation on the matter. In an open letter, the ACPM said the real return bonds are an important tool in building a balanced portfolio that manages inflation risk. In […]
The estimated cost to transfer retiree pension risk to an insurer in a competitive bidding process increased from 101.1 per cent of a plan’s accounting liabilities in September to 101.9 per cent of those liabilities in October, according to Milliman Inc.’s latest pension buyout index. The index uses the FTSE above median AA curve and annuity […]
By the time Nick Chamie graduated with his first degree in economics in 1992, the Berlin Wall had already fallen and the Soviet Union had ceased to exist. Still, Chamie — now the chief strategist and senior managing director at the Investment Management Corp. of Ontario — explains that, as he began making his way in the […]
In the institutional investment sector, risk management means thinking about a lot of doom and gloom, but for Danny Ip, the job is more about being prepared for what could happen tomorrow rather than forecasting what storms lie ahead. The TTC Pension Plan’s director of investment risk and analytics employs an analytical approach to measuring […]
A majority (77 per cent) of U.S.-based institutional investors expect interest rates and inflation to remain elevated in 2024, causing problems for risk assessments over the next year, according to a new survey by CoreData. The survey, which polled 100 U.S. institutional investors, found the number of investors concerned about the role of inflation over […]