Jesus had a fractious relationship with the financial sector of his day. For those who work at the intersection of religion and finance, the reverberations of his courtyard scuffle with a group of moneylenders remain the source of controversy. Fortunately for Derek Hurst, manager of the Pension Plan of the United Church of Canada, he […]
While Quebec’s Auditor General Guylaine LeClerc says the Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec’s exposure to international and private markets is increasing fraud and corruption risks, the institutional investor is describing its strategy as “essential.” “Diversification, both in terms of geography and asset classes, is essential to meet the return needs of our depositors over […]
The Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan generated an 11.28 per cent return in 2021, led by its public and private equity portfolios. “It was a strong year — we had a return of 11.28 per cent and hit an all-time high for our assets,” says Jeff Wendling, the pension fund’s president and chief executive officer. […]
The second year of the coronavirus pandemic offered defined benefit pension plan sponsors a reprieve from the chaos sown in financial markets during its first year. “A lot of pension plans ended up roughly where they started in 2020, but it was a very bumpy road,” says Gavin Benjamin, a retirement and financial solutions partner […]
The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec saw overall returns of 13.5 per cent in 2021, its best performance since 2010. By the end of last year, the institutional investor’s managed assets reached $419.8 billion, up from $342 billion at the beginning of the year. The Caisse exceeded its own performance expectations by about […]
The strength of equities was among the factors pushing the transaction volume of Canada’s group annuities market to a record high in 2021, according to experts. According to a recent report by LifeWorks Inc., the total volume of group annuities sold in Canada reached $7.5 billion in 2021, up 70 per cent from the previous […]
As a nuclear power provider, Bruce Power’s culture emphasizes the importance of risk-averseness. This is reflected in the company’s efforts to secure the indexed benefits offered to its 6,500 defined benefit pension plan members. “We have many, many checks and balances in place — not just on the operational side, but also when it comes […]
The funded position of a typical defined benefit pension plan decreased on a solvency basis but increased on an accounting basis in January, according to LifeWorks Inc.’s latest monthly report. During the first month of the year, the solvency index, which provides an indication of changes in the solvency funding level of the average pension […]
A new textbook on value investing is aiming to combat the academic community’s premature dismissal of the subject, says author George Athanassakos, professor of finance and the Ben Graham chair in value investing at Western University’s Ivey School of Business. “There are plenty of books on value investing — but not academic books. I decided […]
As the financialization of the real estate sector comes under increased scrutiny from the general public, institutional investors must mitigate the systemic risks posed by housing inequality issues, says Tamara Herman, program manager of capital strategies at the Shareholder Association of Research and Education. “There’s a lot of discussion about the role of institutional investors […]