Institutional investors don’t have to wait for choppy waters to invest in event-driven credit, according to Duncan Farley, portfolio manager on the BlueRay fixed income team at RBC Global Asset Management, speaking during the Canadian Investment Review’s 2023 Risk Management Conference. While the post-pandemic economy has negatively affected several industries, opportunities always exist for investors to […]
During the launch of the University Pension Plan, Barbara Zvan, its president and chief executive officer, knew getting to know the plan’s members was vital to its goal of providing a strong, resilient fund that secured benefits for generations to come. To find out what was important to plan members, the UPP engaged them to find out […]
Supply and demand are outweighing the negative impacts that interest rates are having on real estate in the short term, according to Vikram Rajagopalan, senior managing director at Trez Capital, during the Canadian Investment Review’s 2023 Risk Management Conference. Canada and the U.S. are experiencing population booms, he said, noting the Canadian government’s plan to […]
The food and beverage company’s manager of pension, benefits and wellness discusses fostering an inclusive and supportive work environment, the importance of flexible benefits and the soothing silence of swimming. Q: What top challenges do you face in your role? A: In the realm of total rewards, simplification versus personalization is the challenge I experience […]
By March 2021, nearly half a million Canadian women who lost their jobs during the pandemic still hadn’t returned to work by the beginning of that year, according to data from the Royal Bank of Canada. It also found more than 200,000 women had slipped into the ranks of the long-term unemployed, a threefold increase […]
In 2022, Beneva Inc.’s fraud management department noticed unusual activity under a plan member’s account. The insurer’s artificial intelligence tool, used to analyze millions of benefits claims, flagged that a plan member and the person’s dependant had used up all their maximum coverages within a short period of time. When the plan coverage rolled over […]
While ChatGPT is helping benefits communications become more efficient, detailed and reliable, the risks may outweigh the rewards when it comes to full automation, says Tom Milne, a principal at Normandin Beaudry. The possibilities for generative artificial intelligence in the benefits space are infinite, he says, noting the algorithms are helping expedite the research and […]
The federal government is launching a consultation on draft amendments to pension legislation pertaining to the transfer of unclaimed benefits for missing plan members. Under the Pensions Benefits Standards Act, plan administrators can transfer pension assets of missing members to a ‘designated entity.’ The draft amendments specify who qualifies as a missing member or beneficiary, as […]
Although there are many benefits to remote working arrangements, such as a reduced commute and improved work-life balance, younger employees who work remotely aren’t practising their soft skills and a lack of social interaction may negatively impact their professional lives in the long run, says Janet Candido, founder and principal of human resources consultancy Candido […]
When investing in external asset managers, pension funds are really investing in teams of people, according to Brandon Gill New, director and head of multi-strategy investing and digital assets at the OPSEU Pension Trust, speaking during the Canadian Investment Review‘s 2023 Global Investment Conference. “It’s not like buying a stock or a bond,” she said, […]