Volatility is here to stay, so how will you manage it? That was a key message at Legg Mason Canada’s Global Investment Forum, held on Sept. 29, 2011, in Toronto. Timothy Schuler, senior vice-president and investment strategist with Permal, discussed the factors influencing world markets today and what portfolio managers are doing to mitigate the […]
As you can see, I’m back from maternity leave and resuming my role as Editor of Benefits Canada—and I have a beautiful one-year-old daughter to show for it. I’m so grateful that I had the opportunity to spend the first year of my baby’s life with her. Many people don’t have that choice: in the […]
Here’s a funny story: I returned to work after my maternity leave to discover that my email account was active for the entire year that I was away. I logged on and watched the email counter go up…and up…and then decided I’d better go get a coffee. When I got back to my desk, I […]
The past few years have tested the mettle of investors—and with continuing economic and market instability, pension investing is not a domain for the faint of heart. “We were hurt in 2008, like the average pension plan,” acknowledges Jim Leech, president and CEO of the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (Teachers’). “That really bothered us, because […]
Jim Leech, president and CEO of the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (Teachers’), talked to Benefits Canada about Teachers’ investment principles and why they make the grade. What differentiates Teachers’ from other plans? It really starts right at the top, with governance. The place is run like a business. It’s independent of its sponsors, it has […]
Benefits Canada has extended the deadline to submit nominations for the Pension & Investment Awards and the Workplace Health & Benefits Awards to August 8, 2011. These awards are designed to honour organizations and individuals who have demonstrated leadership and innovation—and who have made a real difference in the pension and benefits industry. There is […]
How can we preserve and protect the Canadian healthcare system for future generations? The Honourable Deb Matthews, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care with the Government of Ontario, outlined a three-point plan at an Economic Club of Canada breakfast this morning. 1. Make healthcare more locally driven and better integrated Matthews pointed to a Toronto […]
Benefits professionals are often required to focus on financial concerns such as budgets, expenses and return on investment. But mental health is all about the human side of the equation. At the April 27 closing keynote session of this year’s Benefits & Pension Summit, Lt.-Col. Stéphane Grenier described the peer support and mental health education […]
It’s no secret that drug costs comprise the largest portion of an employer’s group benefits plan expenditures, but what goes into these costs? That was the topic of this year’s GIPC event, Unravelling Drug Pricing, today in Toronto. There’s no getting around it: most new treatments and preventive measures are more expensive, said Mark Ferdinand, […]
Employers have long struggled with the impact of rising drug plan costs. But on April 7, 2010, Ontario’s Health and Long-Term Care Minister, Deb Matthews, revealed reforms that will affect drug plan sponsors and the pharmacy industry at large: reductions in the cost of generic drugs for Ontario’s public drug system and private payers; increased […]