After years of consultation, the Canadian Institute of Actuaries’ Actuarial Standards Board has finalized changes to key components of how commuted values payable from pension plans are calculated. Among other applications, the commuted-value standard is used to determine how much to pay a terminating plan member who chooses to take their pension payment as a […]
Pension plan sponsors in Ontario are celebrating a small win. The government is changing the rules so plans with less than $10 million in assets will no longer be required to file annual audited financial statements. Since 1992, plans with less than $3 million in assets weren’t required to file audited financial statements with the […]
When pension plans have access to a lot of forecasting information, it’s easy to be tempted into straying from an initial plan. Yet sticking to strategy is key, said Duncan Burrill, managing director and chief executive officer of the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. pension fund, speaking at a Canadian Pension and Benefits Institute event in Toronto […]
Canadian pension funds’ median allocations to infrastructure are higher than their global counterparts, with these allocations increasing significantly since 2010. In fact, according to data provided to the Canadian Investment Review by Preqin Ltd., the median allocation to infrastructure for a global public plan was 1.7 per cent in 2010, while a Canadian public plan’s allocation was four […]
With companies finding themselves strapped for cash in the wake of the coronavirus, are plan sponsors scaling back on the company match in capital accumulation plans? Looking at the bigger picture in the U.S., companies are more focused on keeping their businesses running than on their defined contribution plans, says Peg Knox, chief operating officer […]
It’s been one month since Peter Lindley, the OPSEU Pension Trust’s new president and chief executive officer, started the role. With an engineering degree and a more than 30-year career in finance under his belt, Lindley’s most recent role was president and head of investments at State Street Global Advisors. “When I went to work […]
Across Canada, innovative pension plan design options are continuing to emerge for employers considering a move away from traditional single employer, in-house defined benefit or defined contribution plans. During an event last week at Osler, Hoskin and Harcourt LLP’s office in Toronto, four pension industry professionals shared their experiences developing new plan design options. Speaking […]
As environmental, social and governance issues are increasingly recognized as material factors when considering investments and amid growing stakeholder pressure, many options are available for pension plans looking to incorporate ESG into their portfolios. “Historically, you saw a lot more on the ethical investing end of things — so exclusions, negative screens,” said Eli Angen, […]
Senator Elizabeth Warren, who is running to become the next presidential candidate for the U.S. Democratic Party, has proposed new legislation attacking the private equity industry and calling for major reforms. The Stop Wall Street Looting Act of 2019 proposes stringent rules around private equity transactions, including making private equity firms share responsible for the debts incurred by […]
BlackRock Inc. is shaking up the private equity industry with a new longer-term approach to the asset class. In April, the firm announced it was ready to start investing its long-term private capital vehicle, which had $2.75 billion in capital committed from cornerstone investors at the time. According to BlackRock, the permanent capital vehicle will […]