Canadian employees should have more vacation time and receive fewer holidays than their counterparts in most industrialized nations, says a report. The Canadian Labour Congress report notes that many European countries provide a minimum of four to six weeks of paid vacation, not including numerous paid public holidays. “The Scandinavian countries are particularly generous,” the […]
Since it was founded last year, benefits and pension advisory firm Groupworks Financial Corp. has purchased Buffett Taylor and The Investment Guild, gone public and recently acquired Gallivan & Associates. CEO Derrick March speaks about the company’s future. What are Groupworks’ goals? DM: We want to be the leading consolidator of the independent pension and […]
After months of fighting to see who would win the battle to take BCE private, the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan has emerged victorious, beating a consortium led by the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and another group led by private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management. Teachers’, Providence Equity Partners and Madison Dearborn Partners agreed […]
British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (bcIMC) is buying Canadian Hotel Income Properties Real Estate Investment Trust for $1.2 billion dollars, including debt. “As one of Canada’s best-run hotel businesses, CHIP REIT will be a strong complement to our diversified portfolio of assets and contribute to our ability to help finance the retirement benefits of more […]
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board has confirmed it will invest in an alternative trading system that will compete with the Toronto Stock Exchange. The board will pay $17.5 million for a 10% interest in Alpha, an automated trading system backed by BMO Capital Markets, CIBC World Markets, National Bank Financial, RBC Capital Markets, Scotia […]
ABN AMRO’s managing and supervisory boards say they can no longer support Barclays’s friendly takeover offer. They cite the fact that the US$98.3 billion hostile bid from a group consisting of RBS, Fortis and Santander is about 10% higher than the offer from Barclays. “The Boards are therefore, notwithstanding their support of the strategic benefits […]
Manulife Financial has been contracted by Canada Post to implement its absence solution product for their national disability management program. It represents the largest sale ever for the insurance company’s group benefits business and the biggest in the benefits industry in more than a decade. To service the contract, Manulife has opened a new absence […]
Canadian investors should reduce their risk and diversify their portfolios by investing outside of this country, said Don Reed, president and CEO of Franklin Templeton Investments. “‘This time is different’ are four costly words because history often repeats itself,” he said yesterday at the company’s annual Outlook and Opportunities Forum in Toronto. “The Canadian markets’ […]
Retirement assets in the United States have reached a record US$16.4 trillion dollars in 2006, an increase of 11% over the prior year and a 55% rise since 2002, according to a report. The Investment Company Institute’s report—The U.S. Retirement Market, 2006—finds that last year’s increase was powered by strong growth in employer-sponsored defined contribution(DC)plans […]
The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan is buying an interest in LLX Logistica, a subsidiary of Brazil’s MMX Mineracao e Metalicos. It will subscribe for and purchase 15% of the issued and outstanding shares of the logistics firm in preferred stock for a price of US$185 million. “LLX will continue to aggressively seek investment opportunities in […]