Large pension funds in Canada, in the U.S. and around the world have steadily increased their investment exposure to agriculture in recent years through farm…
In 2009, there were almost 58,000 oil patch jobs in Alberta. Analysts say if oil prices continue to rise, there would be about 102,000 jobs…
Target date funds (also known as lifecycle or age-based funds) have been available to Canadian capital accumulation plan (CAP) sponsors for about half a decade…
March to May is our big season to meet with clients and perform our annual comprehensive DC plan review (most of our clients also do…
U.S. employees in DC plans believe those plans will play a leading role in funding their retirement, and they also expect help with their plans…
The economic downturn of 2008 exposed the risk in asset allocation products designed in and built for a “Goldilocks” environment of non-inflationary growth. With a…
These days, capital accumulation plan (CAP) sponsors have a big job. Many plan members look to them for advice on their retirement plans. But sponsors…
It’s certainly no secret that during the last decade, the trend within the Canadian pension landscape has been for plan sponsors to move away from…
Dr. Damian Handzy admits he’s a skeptic. The chair and CEO of Investor Analytics, speaking yesterday at the Pension & Benefits Summit in Toronto, said…
Social media and technology is creating new opportunities to communicate with plan members, according to Kate Nazar, assistant vice-president, client relationships, group retirement services, with…
The federal government’s December 2010 announcement of the pooled retirement pension plan (PRPP) arrangement has been the most significant piece of pension reform introduced in…
If you’re already losing sleep over potential legal challenges from the members of your DC pension plan, here’s another item to add to the sobering…
Plan members, as investors, appear to remain skittish and nervous about the stock market despite the relatively strong rebound in stock prices over the past…
The grasshopper spent the warm months singing away while the ant worked to store up food for winter. When winter arrived, the grasshopper was dying…
The need to boost financial literacy among Canadians continues to capture a growing measure of attention from government and the media, plus plan sponsors, providers…
Investors generally understand the interpretation of annualized investment performance. However, when it comes to making investment decisions, investors tend to place undue importance on recent…
Plan sponsors often determine their DC plan’s investment structure around what the industry is offering, rather than what is best suited to their own plan…
Perhaps you’re a member of a mergers and acquisitions (M&A) team and your company is considering an acquisition. What if you’re not a pension expert?…
Procrastination, confusion and a harried lifestyle are all causes of plan member inertia. DC pension plan providers continue to look for ways to break through…
With DC plans, getting the message out is rarely the problem. With email, printed communications and the exploding realm of social media, it’s easy to…
The industry often focuses on improving employee engagement in company retirement plans and educating employees on saving for retirement. Less attention is given to the…
Expanding the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) is a risky proposition that could actually hinder the plan’s performance, according to study released by the Fraser Institute.…
Every year, the pension industry conducts research that measures how engaged participants are in their retirement plans. Despite tremendous efforts by plan sponsors to educate…
Statistics are a funny thing. They can be twisted and turned and manipulated to support or refute nearly any question. But they serve an important…
The continuing demographic shift has put the retirement income issue into the spotlight and prompted discussion between government, the private sector and Canadians. But people’s…