On Dec. 6, 2024, leaders from Canada’s defined benefit pension plan sponsor community, alongside thought leaders and investment experts, came together at the Omni King Edward Hotel in Toronto to shed light on 2024’s challenging economic landscape and make informed predictions about the hurdles and opportunities ahead. Find out what you missed! Canadian economy on high alert for impact […]
Taking an institutional toolbox to the typically retail closed-end fund market is providing institutional investors with an entry point into an obscure asset, according to Scott Eldridge, senior portfolio manager of closed-end fund strategies at Allspring Global Investments. During a session at the Canadian Investment Review’s 2024 Defined Benefit Investment Forum, he noted the low […]
With the start of a new year, there are several developments and trends that will likely impact Canadian pension plan sponsors in 2025. Implementation of regulatory guidelines In September 2024, the Canadian Association of Pension Supervisory Authorities published a new guideline for risk management for plan administrators and an update to their guideline for capital […]
The world’s 500 largest asset managers’ assets under management increased by 12.5 per cent to US$128 trillion in 2023, compared to $113.7 trillion at the end of 2022, according to a new report by WTW’s Thinking Ahead Institute. It noted the annual growth rate represents a significant recovery from the major correction seen in 2022, […]
Nearly two-thirds (63 per cent) of North American institutional investors say they’re sticking to their long-term investment strategy amid the short-term noise of the various elections taking place globally this year, according to a new survey by Schroders. The survey — which polled more than 2,800 professionals across more than 400 institutional investors, including 92 […]
The funded position of a typical Canadian defined benefit pension plan decreased to 107 per cent in August, down from to 107.8 per cent at the end of July, according to Telus Health’s latest pension index. It found a representative pension plan portfolio returned 0.4 per cent for the month due to strong performances by Canadian equities […]
As institutional investors’ results expectations continue to expand at a rampant speed, Errico Cocchi doesn’t want to get lost in overcomplicated investment trends. “At the end of the day you want to buy something that’s going to grow, that’s well managed and that has a good valuation,” says Cocchi, head of pension investments and debt […]
The median solvency ratio of Canadian defined benefit pension plans increased to 122 per cent in the third quarter of 2024, up slightly from 121 per cent in the previous quarter, according to a new report by Mercer. The report, which tracked 450 DB pension plans, attributed this increase to declines in global interest rates, […]
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board reported an eight per cent return in its fiscal year ending March 31, but significantly underperformed the 19.9 per cent return of its reference portfolio. The reference portfolio, made of 85 per cent global equity and 15 per cent Canadian bonds, benefited last year from stock price surges in the […]
The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec returned 4.2 per cent in the first half of 2024, underperforming its benchmark of 4.6 per cent. As at June 30, 2024, the Caisse’s net assets totalled $452 billion. Its average annualized returns over five and 10 years were six per cent and 7.1 per cent, respectively. […]