The MSCI Inc. is launching five thematic indexes to track the performance of what it calls ‘megatrends,’ namely the rise of smart cities, the digital economy, future mobility, disruptive technology and millennials. Institutional investors can use these indexes as investment policy benchmarks, as the basis for passive products or as benchmarks against which to measure […]
General Electric Co. is freezing its U.S. defined benefit pension plan for about 20,000 employees with salaried benefits, reducing its pension deficit by between US$5 million and US$8 million. The affected employees will cease accruing additional benefits or make employee contributions after Jan. 1, 2021, but benefits accrued until Dec. 31, 2020 will be unaffected. As of the […]
Rise People Inc. is partnering with Planswell Inc. to expand on its employee health and wellness offerings. Planswell offers employees the ability to create free online financial plans and receive personalized advice from financial planning professionals to help them grow their wealth and reduce debt. Read: Financial wellness programs must go beyond education: survey “As […]
While society at large is promoting conversations around mental health, stigma is still entrenched in the workplace, according to a new survey by Teladoc Health Inc. The survey was conducted in four countries —Australia, Canada, the U.K. and the U.S. — with 3,894 total participants and 964 in Canada. It found 27 per cent of […]
Schroders is appointing Marc Brookman as chief executive officer of its North American operations. Karl Dasher, the current CEO of North America and co-head of fixed income, will be leaving the firm at the end of the year. Before joining Schroders in 2018 as deputy CEO of North America, Brookman was managing director and head […]
Mental-health benefits offerings are on the rise, with the share of Canadian organizations that provide mental-health coverage nearly doubling over the past five years, according to a new survey by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans. The survey, released this week to coincide with World Mental Health Day, found more than three-quarters (79 per cent) […]
Pension funds are diversifying into alternatives in an increasingly challenging environment for returns. But many of the traditional characteristics institutional investors seek to achieve by investing in alternatives may not actually be present depending on the particular asset class, said Michael Sager, vice-president and client portfolio manager in multi-asset and currency management at CIBC Asset […]
Norway’s largest pension fund, Kommunal Landspensjonskasse, is divesting its holdings in five oil sands companies, four of which were Canadian. KLP’s stake in Canadian firms Cenovus Energy Inc., Husky Energy Inc., Imperial Oil Ltd., Suncor Energy Inc. and Russian company Tatneft PAO was a combined US$58 million, with US$33 million in equity and US$25 million in bonds. […]
Scotiabank is providing its eligible Canadian employees with an additional two paid personal days to support their mental health. Beginning Jan. 1, 2020, the bank’s Canadian workforce will have a total of five personal days and the flexibility to take them as needed, in addition to existing sick and vacation days. “Our people are our […]
Public pension plans rely on the help of investment advisory firms, but do politics play a role in which firms they choose to work with? A paper co-written by William Beggs, an assistant professor of finance at the University of San Diego School of Business and Thuong Harvison, a PhD candidate at the University of […]