As institutional investors navigate complex markets and demanding governance requirements, Grace Uniacke, director of alternatives solutions at Russell Investments, suggests they move their portfolios from disconnected compartments towards integrated, connected systems. “This can be done in incremental tweaks, but more so as a structural upgrade to how we design, construct and manage institutional portfolios,” she said during […]
The majority (82 per cent) of Canadian employers say cost is their primary consideration when defining and reviewing benefits, compared to 66 per cent of global organizations, according to a new survey by MBWL International and Normandin Beaudry. The survey, which polled more than 350 employers across 100 countries, found more than half (54 per […]
For the fourth year in a row, five Canadian pension funds are among the most transparent in the world, according to the global pension transparency benchmark, a collaboration between Top1000funds.com and CEM Benchmarking Inc. The benchmark, launched in 2021, measures the transparency of disclosures of 15 pension systems across measurements such as cost, governance, performance […]
Among working generations of Canadians, employees aged 20 to 29 have the lowest general well-being, reporting a score of 46.9 out of 100, according to a new report by Dialogue Health Technologies Inc. The report analyzed data from 6,400 Canadians and uncovered insights across five dimensions of well-being: mood, stress, sleep, activeness and sense of […]
The University of California San Diego’s Kroner Center for Financial Research is examining four research areas that can assist institutional investors in determining successful strategies that mitigate risk and generate alpha, said its executive director Michael Melvin, during the Canadian Investment Review‘s 2023 Investment Innovation Conference in November. The think tank’s advisory council, which is comprised […]
A story on how the federal government is considering ending Canada’s ’30 per cent rule’ was the most-read investment story on BenefitsCanada.com this year. Here are the 10 most popular investment news stories of 2023: 1. Feds consider end of ‘30% rule’ for pensions, propose EI adoption benefit: fall economic statement 2. Uptick in U.S. commercial office real estate […]
The Association of Canadian Pension Management is urging the federal government to reverse its position on the cessation of real return bonds and open a stakeholder consultation on the matter. In an open letter, the ACPM said the real return bonds are an important tool in building a balanced portfolio that manages inflation risk. In […]
Canadian employers are projecting, on average, 3.3 per cent for merit increase budgets and 3.7 per cent for total increase budgets in 2024, compared to 3.6 per cent and 4.1 per cent, respectively, in 2023, according to a new survey by Mercer Canada. “In the face of economic uncertainty and reduced labour market pressure, employer […]
Three-fifths (60 per cent) of benefits plan sponsors say the costs of their health benefits plan increased in the past three years, according to the 2023 Benefits Canada Healthcare Survey. It found this percentage decreased from 66 per cent when the question was last asked in 2016 and was unchanged from 2015 (60 per cent). […]
The federal government’s plan to consolidate Canada mortgage bonds into the Government of Canada bond program could limit pension funds’ ability to mitigate risk through diversification, according to the Pension Investment Association of Canada. In an open letter to Finance Canada, the PIAC said the move may force institutional investors to choose between accepting lower […]