Members of Canada’s largest multi-employer pension plan may soon face benefits cuts of up to 50%, according to a report by the Toronto Star. According to a letter from the Canadian Commercial Workers Industry Pension Plan (CCWIPP) to its 130,000 active members, companies in Ontario will need to increase their contributions by up to 40 […]
Hewitt Associates is warning defined contribution (DC) plan investors to avoid long-term bonds due to a pending reversal in interest rates. The company’s latest InVision survey of Irish pension fund performance over the second quarter of 2010 explains how the long-term secular downtrend in interest rates is reversing, which will make fixed income investing problematic […]
Since the global financial crisis, asset allocation isn’t what it used to be. That is the main message behind State Street’s latest report, which explains how the line between strategic and tactical asset allocation has become porous—resulting in a more holistic decision-making process regarding risk management. In Vision Focus: Rethinking Asset Allocation, State Street illustrates […]
The GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) used for U.S. corporate pension earnings is not only detrimental to a plan’s long-term risk management efforts but also increasingly irrelevant, according to a new report. In Funny Money: The increasing irrelevance of pension earnings, Mercer Consultants and Oliver Wyman explain how the current U.S. pension accounting standards obscure […]
Despite fears of a double dip recession and wobbly sovereign debt, the global economy is slowly improving. Global employee engagement, however, is not. A report by Hewitt Associates illustrates the disconnect between overall economic conditions and employee engagement, with more than half of the 900 organizations polled around the world reporting a significant drop in […]
CNBC is reporting that sanofi-aventis will send a “bear hug” letter to U.S. biotech group Genzyme within the next 72 hours. A so-called bear hug letter is a takeover offer for a higher per-share price than the company is worth. The unsolicited bid is rumored to be in the neighbourhood of $70 a share, which […]
A Mercer communiqué outlines the latest developments in British Columbia’s efforts to rein in the cost of generic drugs. Its message for plan sponsors with employees in that province: don’t hold your breath waiting for savings. British Columbia Health Services Minister Kevin Falcon announced on July 9, 2010 the signing of the Pharmacy Services Agreement […]
The perceived value of health benefit plans amongst employees has increased as a result of recent economic volatility and higher unemployment, according to the 2010 sanofi-aventis healthcare survey. The firm’s poll of 1,508 primary holders of group health benefit plans finds that 77% of respondents say the existing economic environment has increased the value they […]
Despite strong opposition from major shareholder Standard Life Investments, the board of U.K. auto parts manufacturer Tomkins has backed the £2.89 billion (C$4.66 billion) offer from Canadian private equity firm Onex and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB). The offer represents a premium of about 41% to the share price prior to the offer […]
There are times when a hands-off approach to investing is the correct one, and the past two years seem to be a case in point, according to a new report. While the financial world spun into the depths of the global financial crisis in late 2008 and early 2009, automatic features and investor inertia helped […]