In today’s complex market, real estate investments continue to provide opportunities for institutional investors due to the simplicity of the risk spectrum, particularly when comparing equity and debt, said Marc Weidner, managing director and head of global real estate at Franklin Templeton, during the Canadian Investment Review‘s 2023 Investment Innovation Conference in November. “We think the case […]
As the objectives of defined benefit pension plans have evolved, so too have institutional investors’ reasons for including fixed income allocations in a portfolio, from adding diversification and offsetting negative returns in equity to liquidity management and capital preservation, said Ashwin Gopwani, managing director and head of retirement solutions at Sun Life Capital Management, during the Canadian Investment […]
After closing its defined benefit pension plan nearly two decades ago and replacing it with a less riskier defined contribution plan, International Business Machines Corp. is launching a new retirement benefit account that allows its U.S. employees to have the best of both worlds. Last week, the company ceased its 401(k) matching and one per […]
Defined benefit pension plan sponsors that are considering winding up their plans or converting them to another framework following the federal government’s super-priority bill have more innovative options, according to Mitch Frazer, managing partner at Mintz LLP, during the Canadian Investment Review’s 2023 Risk Management Conference. Although Bill C-228, which received royal assent at the end […]
With hybrid working emerging as the frontrunner in the evolving workplace, ‘bare minimum’ workdays is one of many flexible working policies employers are testing to determine the arrangement that best suits the needs of their employees and businesses. Bare minimum workdays allow employees to work at a much more relaxed pace without distractions. More employers […]
B.C. Transit’s Fraser Valley bus drivers are joining the Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology’s DBplus pension plan. After a strike action that lasted 124 days earlier this year, the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 561 secured a new six-year contract agreement for its 213 members who work in the communities of Abbotsford, Agassiz-Harrison, […]
With the Muslim population steadily growing in Canada, employers that offer defined contribution pension plans can avoid unintentionally creating a pension gap by providing these members with access to retirement savings solutions that align with their faith. Under Shariah law, Muslims can’t hold investments that would bring social or environmental harm, such as shares in […]
Canadian plan sponsors and insurers are revisiting how they classify obesity drugs under their benefits plans, amid plan members’ rising demand for Ozempic as a weight-loss treatment. Ozempic, also known under the generic name semaglutide, is a drug used to treat type 2 diabetes. However, the medication has also been credited as a weight-loss treatment, […]
Environmental, social and governance investing is a powerful tool that can reveal systemic issues impacting all parts of institutional investors’ portfolios, said Aaron Bennett, chief investment officer of the University Pension Plan, during the 2023 Responsible Investment Association conference last week. Some of these issues can accrue over time — and, when they finally manifest, they can […]
The Fraser Institute’s president says Alberta’s newly elected premier should ride the wave of the United Conservative Party’s election win and move forward with exploring leaving the Canada Pension Plan. In May, Albertans re-elected Danielle Smith, with the UCP securing a majority government. There’s no better time to start the ‘leave’ discussion than now, says Niels […]
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