For institutional investors looking to add some glitz to their portfolio, digital infrastructure may not be the right asset class. Benn Mikula and his colleagues at Cordiant Capital Inc. have a nickname for the group of assets — which includes communications towers, data centres and fibre optics — typically featured in a digital infrastructure portfolio. […]
When Phillip Kotanidis took over as chief human resources officer at Toronto’s Michael Garron Hospital in 2018, the financial well-being of staff wasn’t exactly high on his agenda. In such a fast-paced and potentially stressful workplace, money matters naturally took a backseat to the physical and mental health of the hospital’s staff, who are members […]
A growing wave of opposition to environmental, social and governance factors has turned life in the sustainable finance industry into something of a roller coaster over the last couple of years. But a little turbulence is to be expected, says Alyson Slater, managing director of sustainable investment at Manulife Investment Management, encouraging institutional investors to […]
By the time Nick Chamie graduated with his first degree in economics in 1992, the Berlin Wall had already fallen and the Soviet Union had ceased to exist. Still, Chamie — now the chief strategist and senior managing director at the Investment Management Corp. of Ontario — explains that, as he began making his way in the […]
Considering women account for just over half of the population, Andrew MacDougall understands why — taken in isolation — the state of female representation at the top level of Canada’s public companies can seem a little underwhelming. According to the most recent round of disclosures, around 34 per cent of seats on the boards of […]
Traditionally, Chinese workers have relied on two pillars of income in retirement — the basic state pension and employer-sponsored plans open to employees in certain sectors. However, in late 2022, the Chinese government poured some concrete into the mould of a third pillar, unveiling the details of a previously announced private pension scheme. Under the […]
Finance’s toughest problem just got a whole lot trickier, thanks to the quandary of inflation. Legendary economist William F. Sharpe sealed his place in history when he collected the 1990 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his work on investment decision-making, but in defined contribution pension circles, the emeritus professor at Stanford University is […]
Matching employer contributions in capital accumulation plans are as close to free money as employees can legally get. “You’re not changing your risk — because the money goes to the same fund it would otherwise — and you’re getting two-times the return,” says Eric Monteiro, senior vice-president of group retirement services at Sun Life Financial […]
As a fresh-faced elementary school student in 1977, Aaron Bennett wasn’t quite in the target demographic for the freshly launched Benefits Canada magazine. Still, Bennett — now the chief investment officer at Ontario’s University Pension Plan — has a pretty firm grasp on the concerns that would have occupied the minds of his predecessors as […]
At the Alberta Investment Management Corp., diversity, equity and inclusion has catapulted up the priority list when it comes to investment strategy. While DEI has long played a role in the decisions of the AIMCo and other institutional investors, says Alison Schneider, the organization’s vice-president of responsible investing, she credits the coronavirus pandemic for catalyzing […]