The Canada savings bond program takes its final bow on Nov. 1, leaving a hole in Canadians’ hearts and savings portfolios. The program began in 1946, preceded by war savings certificates and victory bonds issued during the two world wars. As part of Canada’s postwar financing program, the Canada savings bond and associated payroll program then […]
The Canadian government will discontinue the Canada savings bond and Canada premium bonds program on Nov. 1, 2017. While existing bonds will continue as usual until they mature or the purchaser redeems them, the option of buying them through a payroll savings program will now be off the table. The program reached peak popularity in the 1980s, but […]
At an index level, equity volatility in developed markets has reached record lows in 2017. In the U.S. options market, the Chicago Board Options Exchange volatility index, also known as the VIX index, has averaged slightly less than 12 per cent, compared to an average of more than 19 per cent since the financial crisis. Given the common […]
The median solvency ratio of Canadian defined benefit pension plans reached 99.3 per cent in the third quarter of 2017, bolstered by two interest rate increases and rising bond yields, according to Aon’s latest quarterly median solvency ratio survey. This is an increase on the 94.8 per cent median solvency ratio reported by Aon for […]
What are the top challenges plan sponsors face?
While the Bank of Canada had long talked down the idea of raising interest rates any time soon, the sentiment changed last month when it announced the economy was now strong enough to handle an increase. The move followed the U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision to raise its key interest rate for the third time in […]
The return to normal rates will hurt us more than we know.
Top managers see global alternative assets rise to $5 trillion: survey
Countering earlier positive reports on pension plan performance so far this year, Aon Hewitt is seeing a decline in the median solvency ratio in the second quarter of 2017. The firm cited hawkish remarks on interest rates by the Bank of Canada in reporting the median solvency ratio of Canadian defined benefit plans had fallen […]
While the investment climate has generally been positive in recent months, investors can expect a macroeconomic “tug of war” in 2017, according to the head of TD Asset Management Inc. “On the one side of this tug of war are some good things from the perspective of the financial markets,” Bruce Cooper, chief executive and […]