The Alberta School Employee Benefit Plan’s response to the coronavirus pandemic led to a win in the Coronavirus and benefits category for an employer with fewer than 1,000 employees at Benefits Canada‘s 2022 Workplace Benefits Awards on Oct. 18. When the pandemic was declared in March 2020, the organization quickly responded with measures such as […]
Scotiabank is supporting employees with elderly relatives by providing five back-up days for elder care. The benefit provides in-home visits by personal support workers and was modelled after an existing program providing the bank’s employees with back-up childcare days, says Dominic Cole-Morgan, senior vice-president of total rewards. “It was about understanding sources of potential mental-health […]
While defined contribution pension plans currently outnumber defined benefit pension plans, this wasn’t always the case, recalls Bita Jenab, a principal at RetirementWorks Services Inc. DC plans began to gain popularity in the mid-1980s, due to a combination of legislative and economic changes, she adds. “This period marks the introduction of pension accounting rules under […]
Alongside a potential recession and lower global economic growth looming in 2023, defined benefit pension plan sponsors have several tools to minimize the impact of rising inflation, said Eric Menzer, senior portfolio manager and global head of outsourced chief investment officer and fiduciary solutions and multi-asset solutions at Manulife Investment Management, during a session at […]
As institutional investors increasingly turn to private markets in their investment strategies, a holistic approach is required to understand the opportunity set and optimize exposure, said Darren Spencer, director and client portfolio manager of alternative investments at Russell Investments, during a session at the Canadian Investment Review‘s 2022 Risk Management Conference. Over the last 20 […]
While publicly traded real estate investment trusts have been impacted by rising interest rates, the extent of the impact varies from market to market, said Corrado Russo, managing partner and head of global securities at Hazelview Investments, during a session at the Canadian Investment Review‘s 2022 Risk Management Conference. “It’s not shocking to see those [markets] that […]
With market volatility increasing amid the convergence of multiple global events, institutional investors can turn to multi-asset credit to provide attractive levels of income and diversification as well as reposition their existing asset mix or risk budget, said Blair Reid, partner and senior portfolio manager for multi-asset at BlueBay Asset Management, part of RBC Global […]
The use of a four-state probability model can more accurately predict stock market phases and improve investment and risk management decisions, said Tom McCurdy, professor of finance and Bonham chair in international finance at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, during the Canadian Investment Review’s 2022 Risk Management Conference. The proposed model incorporates […]
In 2018, Ivanhoé Cambridge, the real estate arm of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, engaged the services of Women in Governance, an organization dedicated to increasing gender parity and diversity at Canadian employers. “This program helps us ask the right questions to make sure we’re implementing the right policies to increase gender […]
The technology company’s senior benefits consultant on employee well-being, the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion and bikes races in Western Canada. Q: What top challenges do you face in your role? A: Although there can be day-to-day challenges supporting our employees across Canada, Amazon continues to support the increased needs created by the coronavirus […]