Bryan McGovern

FSRA monitoring target-benefit framework, pension risks in 2025

The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario is closely monitoring administrative risk and pension plan sponsors’ geopolitical concerns in 2025, says Andrew Fung, the organization’s executive vice-president of pensions. He cites increasing non-investment management risks like fraud, identity theft, data breach, cybersecurity and the use of artificial intelligence as emerging risks that plan sponsors will […]

  • January 2, 2025 January 2, 2025
  • 11:00

Making sustainable investments count at five New York City pension funds

Brad Lander is advocating for public pension funds to enforce their responsible investment mandates even if that pits them against their partners. As New York City comptroller and chief financial officer, he’s the investment advisor and custodian for the city’s five public pension funds. In the role, he oversees the investment guidelines and allocations strategy […]

  • December 13, 2024 December 12, 2024
  • 08:55

OMERS facing first governance review in more than 10 years

An independent review of the Ontario Municipal Employees’ Retirement System will examine the unique governance structure of the investment organization. The current structure of the investment organization designates two separate entities with different duties and responsibilities, notes Jordan Fremont, a partner in the pensions and benefits group at Stikeman Elliott LLP. The OMERS Sponsors Corporation […]

  • December 12, 2024 December 12, 2024
  • 11:00

Institutional investors urged to examine AI integration beyond productivity: CPPIB

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board is asking fellow institutional investors to consider the impact of artificial intelligence in investees’ labour patterns beyond a productivity improvement perspective, says Jon Webster, senior managing director and chief operating officer at the CPPIB. In a new report, the investment organization said institutional investors stand at the forefront of […]

  • December 3, 2024 December 2, 2024
  • 11:00

DB pension plan sponsors facing “bottleneck” in annuities market: expert

Increased deal-making in the Canadian annuities market is adding pressure to defined benefit plan sponsors seeking to de-risk their plans, says Jason Vary, president of Actuarial Solutions Inc. “[The market is] getting worse,” he says. “This year, I’ve had some experiences where we’re placing some small annuities, under $5 million, and we really struggled to […]

  • November 21, 2024 November 21, 2024
  • 11:00

Leadership changes at the AIMCo could impact credibility, independence: expert

The swift removal of the chief executive officer, three executives and the 11-person board at the Alberta Investment Management Corp. is a dramatic move that raises red flags about the influence of Alberta’s provincial government, says Anthony Guindon, a partner at Koskie Minsky LLP. “We don’t entirely know at this stage but it makes one […]

  • November 19, 2024 November 15, 2024
  • 09:00

The Calgary Foundation using alternatives to push beyond its comfort zone

In the years following the 2008/09 financial crisis, Dan Langlois realized the allocation strategy for the Calgary Foundation’s endowment portfolio needed a significant adjustment if it planned to meet its annual funding goals. “I knew we needed to do something in terms of increasing the return in the portfolio to preserve the corpus or the […]

  • November 15, 2024 November 13, 2024
  • 08:54

What could a second Trump presidency mean for Canadian institutional investors?

While an arduous U.S. presidential election cycle may have created some market volatility, any uncertainties among Canadian institutional investors may begin to wane following Donald Trump’s election as the 47th U.S. president on Wednesday, says Ian Riach, senior vice-president and portfolio manager at Franklin Templeton Investment Solutions. “Economics tend to trump politics . . . . […]

  • November 7, 2024 November 6, 2024
  • 11:00

Beneva achieves legacy recognition for industry leadership with award win

Éric Trudel’s long leadership and oversight tenure across roles in the insurance industry resulted in a win at Benefits Canada’s 2024 Workplace Benefits Awards on Oct. 18. The executive vice-president and leader of group insurance at Beneva Inc. won the Industry Leadership award for his commitment to resourceful solutions for both benefits plan members and […]

  • November 4, 2024 November 6, 2024
  • 09:00

How are political tensions between Canada, India impacting institutional investors?

While political tensions have recently flared between Canada and India, institutional investors are unlikely to adjust their capital allocation to the country, says Partha Mohanram, John H. Watson chair in value investing at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. “I don’t [have] any indication that you’re going to see any kind […]

  • October 31, 2024 October 30, 2024
  • 11:00