Home Martha Porado

Saskatchewan school support workers could strike over unused sick leave retirement benefits

Support staff for the Prairie South School Division in Moose Jaw, Sask. have voted overwhelmingly in favour of job action, up to a full withdrawal of services, when the school year starts again. The staff, members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees 5512 chapter, object to their employer’s attempt to remove a long-service recognition benefit that provides employees with […]

  • July 17, 2019 November 12, 2020
  • 09:00

Mercer, Wealthsimple launch online savings, investment tool

Mercer and Wealthsimple Inc. are teaming up to create a digital saving and investing platform for Canadian employees. Mercer Invest Wise, which is a voluntary savings tool, is intended to be included in a total rewards package. Accessible online and as a mobile app, it allows employees to manage various savings and investment accounts, such as their […]

  • July 12, 2019 November 30, 2020
  • 08:45

Canadian DB pension solvency on the rise but volatility ahead

Canadian defined benefit pension plans maintained their solvency levels through the second quarter of 2019, according to Mercer’s latest pension health index. The index, which represents the solvency ratio of a hypothetical plan, reached 106 per cent as of June 30, 2019, an increase from 102 per cent at the year’s outset. The current solvency […]

  • July 4, 2019 November 12, 2020
  • 15:54

Canadian DB plans maintain solvency in Q2

Canadian defined benefit pension plans maintained their solvency levels through the second quarter of 2019, according to Mercer’s latest pension health index. The index, which represents the solvency ratio of a hypothetical plan, reached 106 per cent as of June 30, 2019, an increase from 102 per cent at the year’s outset. The current solvency […]

  • July 4, 2019 January 9, 2021
  • 09:20

MSCI set to classify Kuwait as emerging market, subject to certain conditions

Subject to certain conditions, MSCI is set to promote its Kuwait index to emerging market status beginning June 2020. Later this fall, Kuwait’s financial markets are planning to open up to foreign institutional investors in new ways. If all proceeds as planned, the Kuwait index will be included in MSCI’s emerging markets index, which will […]

  • July 2, 2019 January 9, 2021
  • 09:07

Should working moms get a pension boost?

The Pensions Policy Institute and U.K. consumer advocacy group Which? are teaming up to recommend to the U.K. government that working mothers should receive a top-up to their pensions in an effort to close the pension gender gap. The groups’ analysis found a woman in the U.K. who took time off for childcare responsibilities would put an average […]

  • June 28, 2019 April 22, 2021
  • 09:15

How is fixed income faring amid renewed market volatility?

With renewed volatility prompting money managers back on their toes, equity markets have been leading investment industry discussions over the past few quarters. Against this backdrop, how is fixed income, the other fundamental building block of defined benefit pension portfolios, faring? For David Lafferty, senior vice-president and chief market strategist at Natixis Investment Managers, the […]

  • June 28, 2019 November 12, 2020
  • 07:56

Back to basics on responsible investing

When ESG, the catch-all acronym for environmental, social and governance, is discussed, a lot of terms are thrown around. As these issues increasingly play into institutional investors’ decision-making, they need to know what it all means. Climate change dominates among environmental concerns, but plastic waste is also holding investor attention. Major social issues include preventing […]

  • June 28, 2019 November 11, 2020
  • 07:53

Is cyber security the next big growth industry?

As certain major technology firms are struggling, a sub-sector of the industry is on the rise. “Cyber security companies are producing and providing essential services,” says Raj Lala, president and chief executive officer of Evolve ETFs. “They’re not producing a smartphone or a social media application, so they’re very different from the FAANG stocks out […]

  • June 21, 2019 November 12, 2020
  • 09:00

Sun Life consolidates asset management businesses to form SLC Management

Sun Life Financial Inc. is consolidating several elements of its asset management business. The firm’s fixed income institutional asset management businesses — Prime Advisors Inc., Ryan Labs Asset Management Inc. and Sun Life Institutional Investments Inc. — will be combined with its general account to form SLC Management, a new autonomous asset management business. SLC […]

  • June 19, 2019 November 12, 2020
  • 09:00