Northern Trust has added liability benchmarking to its Investment Risk and Analytical Services product offering for custody clients on a global basis. The customized benchmarks, it says, allow plan sponsors to more accurately gauge the performance of a liability-driven investment (LDI) program by measuring a plan’s assets against the fair market value of its obligations […]
Employers and service providers tackle mental illness in the workplace. Best employers offer flexibility, survey finds While the labour market in Canada—particularly in the west—may be tighter than it was a year ago, some organizations are managing to achieve high engagement levels and hang on to their employees by offering flexibility, according to Hewitt Associates. […]
Global institutional fund assets in the 11 major markets grew by about 9% during 2007 to more than US$25 trillion, says a study. Watson Wyatt’s Global Pension Assets Study finds that the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom and Canada, respectively, were the largest pension fund markets in 1997 and this remained the case last […]
The Supreme Court of Canada has granted leave to appeal in the Elaine Nolan, et al. v. Kerry (Canada) et al. case. Plaintiffs had sought leave to appeal last year’s decision by the Ontario Court of Appeal, which is now open to reconsideration by the Supreme Court. In June, the Court of Appeal ruled that […]
FTSE Group and Yasaar Research have launched the FTSE Shariah Global Equity Index Series. The series is comprised of 96 new Shariah-compliant indices, including the FTSE Shariah Developed Index Series, the FTSE Shariah Emerging Index Series, the FTSE Shariah All-World Index Series, and the FTSE Shariah Multinational 150 Index. “We are continuing to provide solutions […]
Only 41% of large cap Canadian equity investment managers were able to the S&P/TSX Composite Index in the fourth quarter of 2007—the lowest number in three years—according to a report. The Russell Active Manager Report found that last year was very challenging for active managers. The median large cap manager return of 9.6% lagged the […]
Russell Investments Canada Limited has appointed Harris Associates, L.P. and McKinley Capital Management in the Russell global equity fund and Russell global equity pool. Coincident with these additions, Altrinsic Global Advisors, LLC will no longer be a manager in these portfolios. “We view these manager changes as a structural enhancement to the manager line-ups in […]
State Street has been appointed to provide a range of custody, accounting and fund administration services to Columbia Management’s Excelsior Funds, which have approximately US$20 billion in assets. “We are pleased to extend our relationship with State Street,” says Christopher Wilson, head of mutual funds, Columbia Management. “It has consistently proven it can keep pace […]
The majority of jobs created in Canada last year were in high-paying sectors, supporting an overall upward trend in employment quality and personal income, according to a report by CIBC World Markets. “Not only did the Canadian economy generate close to 400,000 new jobs in 2007, but the vast majority of them were in high-paying […]
The Ontario Expert Commission on Pensions (OECP) has released the research papers it commissioned as part of its research program. The 17 papers cover the role and importance of occupational pension plans in the total retirement income of Ontarians, the coverage of occupational pension plans in Ontario and many other topics. “These papers will therefore […]