This was a newly created position at the CPBI? IA-C: Two years ago, the board of directors set up a governance review of the institution and also clarified the job description of a new position of CEO because they thought the institution would be suffering because of a lack of good strong leadership. There was […]
Fifteen to 20 years ago, the approach to managing disability claims was a little like an assembly line. Employers handed over a claim to insurers with an “it’s your problem now” attitude. Insurers either accepted or rejected the claim. And a claimant, now homebound, viewed the workplace from the sidelines. A rather cold, harsh reality. […]
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty’s income trust tax announcement on Oct. 31, 2006, was certainly no treat for Canadian citizens and businesses. Earlier last year, Harper and the Conservatives made an election promise not to tax trusts. But yesterday afternoon, a number of MPs shelled out a treat of their own. A Parliamentary committee – with […]
It’s rough seas these days for plan sponsors. With pension plans investing in alternative assets such as private equity and real estate, sponsors are now taking on more onerous tasks as they attempt to navigate these investment choices. Similarly, with no foreign exchange limit for pension plans, global investing is on the rise, requiring a […]
The federal government has given the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board(CPPIB), which manages the pension plans for employees across Canada except Quebec, the green light to increase its use of derivatives. Since 1998, Section 14 of the CPPIB Regulations restricted the Board’s use of derivatives(that is, investment contracts in which prices depend upon the value […]
Canadian pension assets are in a healthy place right now. In 2006, pension funds’ assets under management reached $1 trillion for the first time. According to Greenwich Associates’ 2006 Canadian Investment Management Research Study, the reason for this landmark number has been strong investment returns. These returns have helped plan sponsors keep their funding ratios […]
The National Quality Institute (NQI) is an independent organization founded to improve performance and results of organizations. For 10 years, Delta Hotels has been a member of NQI, and through its excellence program, Delta Hotels has taken a strategic approach to a healthy workplace. One benefit Delta Hotels has had in using the NQI criteria […]
If an employee needs to take time off for chemotherapy sessions, an employer is usually obliging. But what happens if an employee is diagnosed with depression? Can that employee take time off or be excused for missing deadlines, being irritable or blaming others for problems? According to a new Ipsos-Reid North American survey on depression, […]
Hedge funds are still an alternative asset class for the majority of institutional investors, said Pawel Piesowicz, a consultant with Mercer Investment Consulting in Toronto, speaking at the Alternative Investments & Absolute Return Strategies for Institutional Investors conference. But according to a 2006 Mercer survey on funds of hedge funds, Piesowicz says interest in this […]
The reasons for investing in private equity are twofold, said Thomas Kennedy, managing director of Kensington Capital Partners, speaking at the Alternative Investments & Absolute Return Strategies for Institutional Investors conference in Toronto. First, private equity can produce better returns. Consultants suggest that private equity returns should surpass public market returns by 300 to 500 […]