The Trustees of Ironworkers Ontario Pension Fund has entered into a definitive settlement agreement to resolve the previously disclosed application commenced by the Ironworkers with respect to Research In Motion’s historical option granting practices. Pursuant to the settlement, RIM has agreed to adopt additional corporate governance measures to supplement the measures it announced in March […]
The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan has bought investment research and governance services provider Glass, Lewis & Co. for US$46 million. It acquired the San Francisco-based firm from Xinhua Finance Limited of Shanghai. “Corporate governance has always been an important issue for institutional investors like Teachers’,” says Brian Gibson, the pension fund’s senior vice-president, public equities. […]
Barclays has dropped its offer to buy ABN Amro—which would have made the combined firms the world’s largest institutional asset manager—because investors failed to support the bid. Instead, a group comprised of Royal Bank of Scotland, Banco Santander, and Fortis will pay US$101.6 billion ABN and split up the Amsterdam-based financial institution. Belgium’s Fortis will […]
Employers will need to give workers more ability to arrange their work schedule to take family concerns into account in order to deal with a shrinking workforce, says a report. The report commissioned by Health Canada, Reducing Work-Life Conflict: What Works, What Doesn’t, notes that mass exits and retirements from the workforce will create a […]
State and local workers in Connecticut received the largest pensions in the United States, averaging US$28,344 last year—approximately $7,500 more than the national average, according to a study. The Empire Center for New York State Policy study finds that 13 other states—Colorado, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Nevada, New York, Illinois, California, Ohio, Alaska, Georgia, Wisconsin, […]
The president of the Canadian Labour Congress wants the federal government to appoint an independent expert monitor to represent the public interest in ongoing discussions to resolve the crisis in the asset-backed commercial paper(ABCP)market. In a letter to Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, Ken Georgetti writes that “some 80% of our 3.2 million members belong to […]
British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (bcIMC) is buying Delta Hotels Limited from Fairmont Hotels & Resorts Inc. Financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed. “As Canada’s leading first class hotel brand, Delta is an ideal fit with bcIMC’s investment strategy to expand our diversified real estate portfolio to include hospitality,” says Doug Pearce, […]
State Street is being sued on behalf of certain defined benefits and defined contribution clients of a Prudential Financial subsidiary. The suit seeks restitution of approximately US$80 million in losses attributable to funds sold by State Street which “employed investment strategies and practices that were misrepresented” and “failed to exercise the standard of care of […]
Standard & Poor’s has upheld the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec credit ratings despite its exposure to third-party asset-backed commercial paper(ABCP). The credit rating agency arrived at its decision after a study of the commercial paper market and the Caisse’s situation. The pension fund reportedly has exposure of between $13 billion and $20 […]
When companies are involved in a merger or acquisition, there are many issues to consider whether the pension plans should be merged as well. Elizabeth Boyd, a partner with Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP, and Evan Howard, a partner with Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP, shared their ideas and recommendations at The Conference Board of […]