Pension funds are under increasing scrutiny and fund manager compensation is an area of heated debate.
Keith Ambachtsheer, director emeritus of the Rotman International Centre for Pension Management, noted at an event last week that the Canadian model has been innovative in offering competitive market salaries to pension fund managers.
“If you want really good people that know how to do private equity transactions in your own shop, they cost a lot of money and, if you can’t pay, you can’t play,” he said.
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In contrast, Virginia Holmes, chairwoman of the Universities Superannuation Scheme, a private pension plan for universities and other higher education institutions in Britain, criticized these wages as being too high and “completely and utterly unacceptable.”
A Benefits Canada article published last week discusses this debate in greater detail. Should Canadian pension fund managers be paid this much? Is it an effective method for hiring and retaining capable managers or is it a needless waste of public funds? Have your say in our weekly poll.
Read: Do Canadian pension fund managers earn too much?
As for last week’s poll, which asked whether Canada should do more to support workers who have caregiving responsibilities for sick or elderly family members, 77 per cent of respondents said Canada is way behind in addressing the issue.
Just a quarter (23 per cent) believe Canada is already doing a lot and it would be too expensive for governments and employers to add new programs and supports.