The funded status of a typical U.S. pension plan improved by 1.8 percentage points last month, according to Mellon Financial. Assets of a moderate-risk pension portfolio increased 2.7% while the value of typical pension liabilities rose 0.9%. “The slight rise in liabilities was driven by a decline in long maturity interest rates, which fell four […]
National Bank of Canada and BNP Paribas have created a joint venture offering hedge fund managed accounts. BNP Paribas has acquired a stake in Innocap Investment Management—an 11-year-old subsidiary of National Bank—which specializes in hedge fund managed accounts, a vehicle of choice for institutional investors who wish to invest in hedge funds while controlling operational […]
The chief executive of OMERS, Michael Nobrega, expects the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan will make a competing offer to take BCE private. He made the comments in an interview with the Business News Network last night. Last month, Teachers’ said it was considering making a bid following the telecom company’s announcement that it was in […]
The Canada Post pension plan earned a 14.3% return in 2006, helping the plan to return to a fully funded solvency position. The returns exceeded the benchmark return of 13.1%, representing the blended return of various Canadian, U.S. and international stock and bond market indices weighed in accordance with its asset mix target. At the […]
The former Premier Cable pension plan will be amended so that new employees of Rogers Cable Communications Inc. can join the plan. It was proposed that the plan be merged with another plan belonging to Rogers Communications Inc., but that proposal was revoked following the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in the Rogers v. Buschau […]
Active Canadian equity managers found a more favourable environment for investing in the first quarter compared to the last couple of years, says Russell Investments Canada. Its 1st Quarter 2007 Active Management report found that 65% of large cap equity managers in Canada outperformed the S&P/TSX Composite Index—the highest proportion if almost three years. “That […]
Claymore Investments has selected RBC Dexia to provide global custody, fund administration and securities lending services for its nine new exchange-traded funds. “In support of this launch, one of our top priorities was to identify an investor services provider with an exceptional track record and a truly global operating model,” says Claymore’s president, Som Seif. […]
Small business employees in the United States are at a disadvantage when it comes to retirement savings, according to a Transamerica survey. When compared to employees at large companies, small business employees are less likely to have access to a defined contribution plan or employee-funded retirement plan. They are also less active then their large […]
The pension status of S&P 500 companies improved significantly last year as a result of the bull market, according to Standard and Poor’s. The preliminary review of the 2006 Pensions & Other Post Employment Benefits Report—to be released in June—shows that defined benefit plans were US$36.4 billion underfunded for 2006, a considerable improvement from the […]
A group of European banks led by Royal Bank of Scotland has bid $109.8 billion for ABN AMRO, topping a from Barclays PLC. The bid is subject to a precondition that the Amsterdam-based bank hold on to its U.S. retail banking operations, LaSalle Bank. On Monday, it agreed to sell the division to Bank of […]