This month in Frontlines: Canadian equities on the upswing, U.S. firms focus on employees’ financial health, Meet an Advisory Board Member, Legal Briefs and more.
Hands on May 01, 2010 | Brooke Smith Most consultants and money managers would say that the best default fund for a defined contribution (DC) pension plan is not to have one. However, this is far from reality. “Plan sponsors find that, despite trying to do their best in terms of education and increasing employee […]
After a difficult year of deal inactivity and portfolio writedowns, the global private equity market may be stirring once again. Global stock market gains in the second quarter of 2009 have encouraged profits, lifted investment value and spurred a few notable initial public offerings (IPOs), signalling distribution gains to investors. Private equity’s limited partner investors—including […]
For many plan sponsors, getting capital accumulation plan members to save for retirement is a challenge. There are risks to consider: undersavings, market, mortality, longevity and inflation, says Rod Bare, director, asset allocation strategies, Morningstar Indexes, with Morningstar, Inc. “It’s within that context that target date funds have been forged, and they’ve had various degrees […]
Other World Views this week:| MON | TUE | WED | THU | FRI | Global investor confidence fell sharply by 17.5 points to 58.2 from a revised September level of 75.7, according to State Street Global Markets, the investment research and trading arm of State Street Corporation. The State Street Investor Confidence Index for […]
Canadian pension plans are once again grappling with low interest rates and falling markets. However, they’ve learned from past experience and are armed with new battle tactics. Pension plans’ standards soared high as they revelled in the market returns of the 1990s. Fully funded, plans did not have to battle the markets. In fact, it […]
The abolition of the foreign property rule opens up a whole universe to pension funds. Depositary receipts may be the most friendly way to access foreign markets. Until recently, most pension plans were invested primarily in Canadian stocks and bonds, since federal regulations prevented institutions and retail investors from putting more than 30% of their […]