Retail equity investors may be outperforming investors with far more expertise as markets grapple with the coronavirus fallout and recovery. A report from Goldman Sachs Group showed that a portfolio of stocks popular among retail investors surged 61 per cent since bear market trough, compared to a 45 per cent gain seen for stocks favoured […]
The last decade of persistently low interest rates, exacerbated by the coronavirus crisis, has created challenges for institutional investors looking to generate income on their bond investments. The challenge has been more acute for pension funds and foundations, who rely on bond investments to fund their ongoing benefit and program obligations. Moreover, indications from global […]
The volatility caused by the coronavirus pandemic made the first quarter of 2020 rough for many Canadian defined benefit pension plans. In early June, the Local Authorities Pension Plan Corp., which is mandated to invest with the Alberta Investment Management Corp., said it began the year with $50.6 billion in assets under management and ended the […]
The volatility caused by the coronavirus pandemic made the first quarter of 2020 rough for many Canadian defined benefit pension plans. In early June, the Local Authorities Pension Plan Corp., which is mandated to invest with the Alberta Investment Management Corp., said it began the year with $50.6 billion in assets under management and ended […]
The Alberta New Democratic Party’s labour and immigration critic is attempting to reverse the provincial government’s plan to transfer teachers’ pensions to the Alberta Investment Management Corp. Christina Gray, an NDP member of the legislative assembly for Edmonton-Mill Woods, introduced Bill 203, called the Pension Protection Act, on Monday. The legislation, if passed, would undo […]
Employers that act as pension plan administrators have statutory fiduciary duties that are defined by the plan documents and by governing pension legislation. While those duties continue to apply during the coronavirus pandemic and the resulting market volatility, they require even more careful navigation, as cash flow and internal corporate resources may be strained. Pension regulators across […]
The Local Authorities Pension Plan is reporting a $3.4-billion loss in an “exceedingly difficult” first quarter, reducing the size of the fund by 6.5 per cent. The LAPP reported $47.2 billion in assets as of March 31, down from $50.6 billion at the beginning of the year. However, it said the impact on the fund would have been […]
In legal circles, it has always been thought that crises breed litigation. And while that appears to be the case in the current crisis, it may not have been the case in the global financial crisis of 2008/9, as pointed out in a recent article by Eric Blinderman, the chief executive officer for the U.S. […]
As investors begin to digest the extended ramifications of the coronavirus pandemic, certain investment lessons are emerging. For one, investing globally provided diversification opportunities as different regions were impacted by the spread of the virus in different ways, according to a new paper from MSCI Inc. “The coronavirus pandemic started in Asia and gradually spread […]
It’s hard to believe that just recently, people weren’t cutting their own hair or binge-watching Tiger King. At the beginning of the year, defined benefit funding levels were at record highs and many pension plan sponsors were considering reducing their pension risk. Fast forward a few months and the novel coronavirus has turned the world […]