Stocks and bonds helped pension funds find positive results in the fourth quarter of 2023, according to the performance universe of pension managers’ pooled funds from Telus Health.
The report is based on a universe of fund managers overseeing approximately $470 billion in assets under management, including $230 billion in pension fund assets.
Read: Average Canadian DB pension plan returns 8.4% in Q4 2023: report
It found Canadian equities, measured through the S&P/TSX composite index, returned 8.1 per cent, while the MSCI world index posted a return of 8.7 per cent. Returns from equities collected in the S&P 500 equity index rose by 9.3 per cent with emerging markets returning 5.3 per cent.
Fixed income securities also rose during the fourth quarter thanks to a “large drop in bond yields,” specifically the Canadian bond market returned 8.3 per cent, said Jean Bergeron, a partner in Telus Health’s investment consulting team, in a press release.
Read: Average Canadian DB pension plan returns 8.2% in Q4 2023: report