When considering environmental, social and governance issues, asset managers are less convinced that social factors drive returns, according to a survey by Netherlands-based NN Investment Partners. Among the European asset managers surveyed, just 15 per cent said social factors are something they can harness to generate returns. This compares to 40 per cent that said the same […]
The cost of employer-provided health benefits in Canada is forecasted to rise six per cent in 2020, outpacing general inflation by 1.9 per cent, according to a 2020 trend rates report by Aon. The increase is due to higher costs from the rising spend on drugs in general, noted a press release. Globally, costs for employer-sponsored medical plans in 2020 are expected to increase […]
The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec is one of several investors participating in Element AI’s $200-million Series B funding round,. The Montreal-based company, founded by Jean-François Gagné and artificial intelligence pioneer Yoshua Bengio, develops AI-powered software solutions. To date, the company has raised $340 million. The Caisse’s contribution to the round is part of its newly […]
The Principles for Responsible Investment has announced the winners of its inaugural awards. In the category of Active Ownership Project of the Year, Platform Living Wage Financials, a group of 11 financial institutions representing over 2.3 trillion euros in assets under management took the top spot, a case study posted on the PRI’s website said. […]
Regular exercise does in fact reduce people’s mental-health burden, according to a study published in The Lancet Psychiatry. The study examined the relationship between exercise and mental health to better understand the influence of exercise type, frequency, duration and intensity on people’s mental-health outcomes. It collected data from 1,237,194 Americans aged 18 years or older […]
While 80 per cent of employees said they want some type of financial education in the workplace, just 58 per cent of employers said they offer it and 25 per cent said they plan to offer it in the next two years, according to a new survey by Eckler Ltd. More than half (54 per […]
The market value of assets held by Canadian trusteed pension plans hit $1.97 trillion in the first quarter of 2019, an increase of five per cent from the last quarter of 2018, according to new data from Statistics Canada. Year over year, the market value of assets rose 3.6 per cent. The total includes assets […]
Indexes have been around for decades, but what does all of that accumulated data actually tell investors? The Russell 3000 index, which was created in 1984, captures approximately 98 per cent of U.S. traded equities. In order to fully replicate the U.S. market, an index would need to hold around 1000 more stocks, many of […]
Prescription drug costs for public drug plans covering most of Canada increased 7.4 per cent in 2017/18 to reach $11.4 billion, according to a new report by the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board. It’s a significant increase compared to the more modest 1.9 per cent growth in prescription drug costs from 2016/17. The board looked at data […]
One in four (28 per cent) Canadian men fear their job could be at risk if they discussed their mental health at work, according to new research by Movember Canada. The survey, which polled 1,000 Canadian men aged between 18 and 75, also found a third of respondents said they’d be reluctant to open up […]