Money in Motion Roundtable November 01, 2009 | Brooke Smith For this year’s Top 40 Money Managers Report, we brought together money managers, consultants and plan sponsors in a virtual roundtable to discuss investment decisions that plan sponsors are making, how they translate into action and the trends we can expect in the next few […]
Organizations are like the tide; they ebb and flow. They change. And whether change is intense (e.g., a merger or new leadership) or chaotic (e.g., 9/11, SARS), in every change there’s both danger and opportunity, says Peggy Grall, a certified executive coach, speaking today at the Employee Assistance Program Association of Toronto’s seminar, Managing the […]
Trying to get a prescription filled at 2 a.m.? Live in northern Ontario but don’t have access to a healthcare provider? PharmaTrust MedCentre System, a telepharmacy kiosk, provides a solution, and it’s simple to use. A patient inserts his prescription, then, via two-way video conferencing, the patient is connected with a pharmacist who can counsel […]
While mental illness statistics are surprising (in Canada, one in five people will be diagnosed with a mental illness), the cost to employers is just as startling. According to one statistic, 14% of net corporate profits go to deal with mental health issues in the workplace when they’re not properly addressed, explained Mary Ann Baynton, […]
The pension industry has had its share of headlines this year: General Motors, Bernard Madoff and Earl Jones, Canada’s own Ponzi king, come to mind. And though some experts speculate that a market turnaround is near, Canada’s defined contribution (DC) plans have also made headlines. Last year, our Top 50 DC Plans Report found 18 […]
Hard times can take a toll on employees’ mental health. What can employers do to help? While she can now talk about it with a touch of humour, Karen Liberman’s experience was far from funny. “Sometimes you just draw the short straw,” says Liberman, executive director of the Mood Disorders Association of Ontario. “And that […]
Karen Liberman of the Mood Disorders Association of Ontario speaks frankly on the prevalence of mental illness, why we need to talk about it and what employers can do to help. How common are mood disorders? They affect one in five [people] around the world. The irony is that by and large, these illnesses—depression, anxiety, […]
Keeping costs at a minimum in this turbulent economy is top of mind for employers. At the recent Managing the Workplace During an Economic Downturn seminar in Toronto, lawyers from Heenan Blaikie’s Labour, Employment and Pensions Practice Group provided some options to help set employers’ minds at ease. While laying off employees might be an […]
Plan administrators attending the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans’ session on Retirement Arrangements on June 17 in Toronto learned that while Canadian and American employers are not required to establish pension plans for their employees, for those that do, there are significant differences. Janet Downing, a lawyer and senior consultant with Watson Wyatt Worldwide, […]
In evaluating which funds to choose, plan sponsors and investment managers usually consider the three Ps: performance, process and people. These aspects are of the utmost importance when it comes to target date funds (TDFs). Unfortunately, the first of the three Ps—performance—presents some challenges. One such challenge is conducting an apples-to-apples comparison of TDFs. “Comparing […]