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Latest news in Fixed income

Sun Life becomes first insurance company to offer sustainability bond

While many financial institutions are issuing green bonds, Sun Life Financial is the first insurance company globally to issue a sustainability bond, which will cover…

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U.S.-dollar Asian bonds growing in market share

U.S.-denominated Asian bonds have reached US$1.1 trillion in outstanding bonds and now rank alongside U.S. high yield and bank loans, according to an Invesco Canada…

  • By: Staff
  • July 12, 2019 January 9, 2021
  • 09:17
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FTSE Russell launching climate change index for sovereign bonds

FTSE Russell is launching a government bond index that weighs countries’ preparedness and resilience to climate change risk. A spin-off of the FTSE world government…

  • By: Staff
  • July 10, 2019 January 9, 2021
  • 10:14
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Fixed income allocations losing ground in growth markets: report

In Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East, pension funds are increasing their exposure to equities at the expense of fixed income, according to…

  • By: Staff
  • June 14, 2019 January 9, 2021
  • 12:02

Morningstar to buy Canadian debt-rating agency

Morningstar Inc. has signed a deal to buy Canadian debt-rating agency DBRS for US$669 million. The U.S. company says the combination of DBRS with Morningstar…

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Fiera to acquire Foresters’ asset management business

Fiera Capital Corp. is acquiring Foresters Life Insurance Co.’s asset management business in an effort to beef up its offering for institutional clients, according to…

  • By: Staff
  • May 17, 2019 January 10, 2021
  • 09:45
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Sun Life Investment Management making senior appointments

Sun Life Investment Management is appointing Elaad Keren as senior managing director and head of mid-markets lending. In the new role, Keren is replacing Keith Cressman, who will…

  • By: Staff
  • May 14, 2019 January 10, 2021
  • 09:30
IMCO outlines portfolio construction strategy in 2018 report

IMCO outlines portfolio construction strategy in 2018 report

After starting to manage funds for its first two clients, the Ontario Pension Board and the province’s Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, the Investment Management Corp.…

  • By: Staff
  • May 3, 2019 January 9, 2021
  • 09:30
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Canadian DB pension returns boosted by rallying equities in Q1 2019

With global and domestic equities rallying in the first quarter of 2019, Canadian defined benefit plan returns were lifted to 7.2 per cent in the…

  • By: Staff
  • May 1, 2019 January 9, 2021
  • 15:15
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N.S. teachers’ pension plan funded status on the decline

The Nova Scotia Teachers’ pension plan posted a net loss in assets for 2018, down to $4.94 billion from $5.11 billion at the end of 2017.…

  • By: Staff
  • April 30, 2019 January 10, 2021
  • 15:30
Pooled pension fund managers rebound in 2019

Pooled pension fund managers rebound in 2019

Pooled pension fund managers bounced back in the first quarter of 2019, posting a median return before management fees of 8.3 per cent, up from…

  • By: Staff
  • April 30, 2019 September 19, 2019
  • 09:51
Exploring the active nature of target-date funds

Exploring the active nature of target-date funds

Looks aren’t a solid basis on which to form a long-term relationship and neither is the surface-level appearance of a target-date fund. “In a perfect…

Expanding the benchmarks for pension funding status

Expanding the benchmarks for pension funding status

Since using a single benchmark portfolio to measure a pension plan’s funding status paints a narrow picture, a new report by PBI Actuaries and Consultants looked…

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Canadian pension plans in strong solvency position in Q1 off surging equity markets

Canadian defined benefit pension plans’ solvency position rose in the first quarter of 2019, according to two new pension indexes. Representing the solvency ratio of a…

  • By: Staff
  • April 3, 2019 January 10, 2021
  • 09:01
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Long-duration fixed income still in demand as U.S. yield curve inverts

With turbulent equity markets, fixed income has a major role to play as defined benefit pensions look to more closely match their liabilities and investments, says…

Custom target-date funds growing in U.S.: survey

Custom target-date funds growing in U.S.: survey

The U.S. customized target-date fund market grew to US$430 billion at the end of 2017, according to the Defined Contribution Institutional Investment Association. The DCIIA’s inaugural survey…

  • By: Staff
  • March 25, 2019 January 12, 2021
  • 08:45
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ESG, China considerations holding fixed income investor interest: survey

Many investors believe the end of the current economic cycle is coming, according to Invesco’s latest global fixed income survey. While 49 per cent of…

  • By: Staff
  • March 22, 2019 January 12, 2021
  • 08:15
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Board governance and the connection to asset allocation

Well-governed boards have greater international diversification and lower cash holdings, according to a working paper by Carolina Salva and Nadège Bregnard from the University of…

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HOOPP posts 2.2% return for 2018

The Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan grew its assets to $79 billion in 2018, up from $77.8 billion at the end of 2017. However, the plan’s funded…

  • By: Staff
  • March 11, 2019 January 10, 2021
  • 15:30
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OPTrust ups its holdings in Ontario green bonds

The OPSEU Pension Trust is making an additional purchase of $100 million in Ontario government green bonds, bringing its allocation in the asset to about…

  • By: Staff
  • March 7, 2019 January 12, 2021
  • 15:30
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Using green bonds to bridge sustainable development goal funding gap

While 17 per cent of current investments by large public corporations are green, fewer than five per cent of corporate green investments in 2017 were…

Caisse rounds out 2018 with 4.2% return

Caisse rounds out 2018 with 4.2% return

The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec ended 2018 with a return of 4.2 per cent, beating its benchmark portfolio, which returned 2.4 per cent,…

  • By: Staff
  • February 22, 2019 September 13, 2019
  • 09:00
Ontario DB plans’ solvency drops in last quarter of 2018: FSCO

Ontario DB plans’ solvency drops in last quarter of 2018: FSCO

Ontario’s defined benefit pension plans had a median solvency ratio of 94 per cent at the end of 2018, according to the Financial Services Commission…

  • By: Staff
  • February 20, 2019 September 13, 2019
  • 09:49
What’s the investment outlook for pension funds in 2019?

What’s the investment outlook for pension funds in 2019?

Following years of steady, globally synchronized growth, volatility is back. In the final weeks of 2018, North American stock markets were especially hectic, posting losses…

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Concordia becomes first Canadian university to issue sustainable bond

Concordia University has launched a sustainable bond, with the aim of financing its share of the university’s new science hub while generating environmental and social benefits…