Remember the pension world’s “perfect storm”? At the time, the storm was seen as being both unpredictable and ending quickly. From a legal point of view, pension plan administrators may not be able to rely on the belief that they can present themselves as the victims of a storm. Risk, like all other aspects of […]
Improving enforcement in the Canadian capital markets. In the wake of recent scandals in the Canadian capital markets, there has been a heightened awareness of the importance of securities regulation enforcement. In response to this, the Investment Dealers Association of Canada (IDA)commissioned the Task Force to Modernize Securities Legislation(Task Force)in Canada in June 2005. Chaired […]
Mitigating the risks of backdating and springloading. Backdating options is, at best, indicative of poor governance and, at worst, illegal. The practice could result in director liability, executive terminations and a dramatic decrease in share price. It is vitally important for plan sponsors to understand how option backdating and springloading is done and to know […]
Experience is crucial to finding successful, long-term infrastructure investing. With ever increasing institutional investor interest in infrastructure investment around the world, it is important to be conscious of the fact that not all infrastructure investments are created equal. There is great breadth and diversity in the opportunities and investors should seek distinct return requirements in […]
A look at price and volume dynamics ahead of Canadian merger announcements. Last year set a record for mergers and acquisitions activity in Canada, with close to 2,000 takeover announcements valued at more than $250 billion Canadian dollars in 2006. This volume tops the recent peak in 2000 and represents a doubling of activity over […]
The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and Abitibi-Consolidated are forming a joint venture for the company’s Ontario hydro electric generation facilities. It will own a 25% interested in the joint venture, called ACH Limited Partnership, while Abitibi will own the rest. The Caisse has also provided a commitment to ACH for a 10-year […]
The Canadian Association of Income Trust Investors(CAITI)claims large pension funds benefit from favourable tax treatment by the federal government. Pension funds have the ability to replicate the ongoing tax-free economics of income trusts through a “carve out,” which allows them to hold private trusts in their private equity portfolios, the organization says. The Public Sector […]
The number of large U.S. employers facing relatively high degrees of financial risk due to pension liabilities has declined sharply, according to a report by Watson Wyatt. “Thanks to a sound economy and considerable corporate contributions, America’s pension plans are generally on firmer financial footing than they were two years ago,” says Mark Warshawsky, the […]
A new survey from Scotiabank has found that 40% of Canadians have made an average of three withdrawals from their RRSPs and nearly half of those who have made at least one withdrawal do not intend to pay it back. Canadians taking money out of their RSPs withdrew an average of $18,000. Of those, 37% […]
Nortel Networks has won the approval of two U.S. judges for a US$2.45 billion settlement to resolve lawsuits over accounting fraud. The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board was the lead plaintiff in one suit. In the other suit, the lead plaintiff was OPTrust, the administrator of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union Pension Plan. Shareholders […]