Around International Women’s Day, many Canadian employers are once again talking about the importance of equality in the workplace. However, a new survey by Mercer, which polled senior leaders, human resources executives and employees around the globe, found there are many areas where companies could be doing more to make work more equitable for all. It found slightly more […]
The solvency levels of Canadian defined benefit pension plans are down off the back of roiling equity and bond markets in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. Aon’s latest median solvency ratio survey found DB plans were down 6.7 per cent on average, from 102.5 per cent in early January to 95.8 per cent at […]
Global institutional investors believe asset managers need to up their technology game if they’re going to win the client-satisfaction war, according to a new report by Greenwich Associates. The report, which featured data from interviews with more than 150 senior decision-makers at large institutional investors in North America and Europe, found more than half believe their asset […]
Freedom 55? It’s looking more like Freedom 70 for some Canadians, but there are strategies that working baby boomers, generation Xers and millennials can employ now to lower their retirement age, according to a new annual report by Mercer. The report found millennials often opt to invest conservatively in low-risk, short-term investments such as money market […]
West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. isn’t annuitizing multiple defined benefit plans to get out of the pension business. In fact, the British Columbia-based integrated wood products company is committed to DB. “We believe we get tremendous value out of our DB plans around recruitment and definitely around retention of our employees,” says Elaine Jensen, the […]
Franklin Resources Inc., operating as Franklin Templeton, is acquiring investment management company Legg Mason Inc. The all-cash deal priced Legg Mason’s common shares at US$50. As part of the transaction, Franklin Templeton will assume the manager’s outstanding debt of about US$2 billion. Legg Mason and its multiple affiliates collectively manage about $806 billion, including Brandywine Global, Clarion Partners, […]
West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. isn’t annuitizing multiple defined benefit plans to get out of the pension business. In fact, the British Columbia-based integrated wood products company is committed to DB. “We believe we get tremendous value out of our DB plans around recruitment and definitely around retention of our employees,” says Elaine Jensen, the […]
Institutional investors are grappling with historic levels of geopolitical tension, with multiple pain points contributing to a shifting macroeconomic landscape. But amid the whooshing sounds of headlines, quickly forgotten with the arrival of the next tweet, Canada’s pension plans are eyeing trade, interest rates and, ultimately, investment fundamentals, no matter which hashtags are trending. “Within […]
More than half (54 per cent) of Canadian employers said they’re planning to invest more in digital health solutions in the next five years, according to a new survey by Mercer Marsh Benefits, Mercer and Oliver Wyman. The survey, which polled 100 employers and 1,000 employees in Canada, also found 42 per cent of employees […]
Canada’s defined benefit pension plans increased their solvency levels in 2019 and have equity markets to thank, according to Mercer. The Mercer pension health index, which represents the solvency of a hypothetical plan, increased to 112 per cent in the final quarter of the year, up from 105 per cent at the end of the […]