Despite year-to-date asset losses and historically high levels of inflation, most Canadian defined benefit pension plans are reporting increased funded positions in the second quarter of 2022, according to a report by Mercer Canada. It found the median solvency ratio increased from 108 per cent as at March 31 to 109 per cent as at […]
There are a lot of reasons to believe financial markets will be very different in the next 10 to 20 years than what pension funds have been used to, according to Aaron Bennett, chief investment officer of the University Pension Plan, during a session at the Canadian Pension and Benefits Institute forum in Montreal last […]
As mask mandates lift and life gets back to normal, defined benefit plan sponsors and institutional asset managers are looking forward to re-engaging with each other in person. During the first year of the coronavirus pandemic, institutional asset managers and defined benefit plan sponsors — like everyone else — stayed connected virtually, but the vast […]
Canada’s defined benefit pension plans saw average losses of 5.5 per cent in the first quarter of 2022, according to a new report by RBC Investor and Treasury Services. During the quarter, DB plans saw their largest overall contraction of worth since the first quarter of 2020. In a press release, Niki Zaphiratos, managing director of […]
The median Canadian defined benefit pension plan experienced a pullback in investment returns during the first quarter of 2022, returning negative 6.4 per cent as markets entered a heightened period of uncertainty, according to a new report by Northern Trust Canada. The report, which tracks the performance of Canadian DB plans that subscribe to Northern […]
The average solvency ratio of Canadian defined benefit pension plans in Mercer’s database increased five percentage points in the first quarter of 2022, according to a new report by the consultancy. The report, which assessed the performance of 464 pension plans, found as at March 31, 2022, the plans’ average solvency ratio reached 108 per […]
The funded position of a typical defined benefit pension plan decreased on a solvency basis but increased on an accounting basis in January, according to LifeWorks Inc.’s latest monthly report. During the first month of the year, the solvency index, which provides an indication of changes in the solvency funding level of the average pension […]
The median return of Canadian defined benefit pension plans was 4.11 per cent for the fourth quarter of 2021, the seventh consecutive positive quarterly return following the initial reaction to the coronavirus pandemic in the first quarter of 2020. BNY Mellon Asset Management Canada Ltd.’s master trust universe, which comprises 84 Canadian corporate, public and […]
The strong performance of domestic equites in the last months of 2021 helped Canadian defined benefit pension plans secure median annual returns of 8.9 per cent, according to a new report by RBC Investor and Treasury Services. During the year, Canadian DB plans performed best during the second and fourth quarters, with median asset growth […]
The median Canadian defined benefit pension plan generated returns of 3.8 per cent in the final quarter of 2021, according to a new report by Northern Trust Corp. The strong performance was driven by a rebound in equity markets during a quarter marred by escalating energy prices and uncertainty about central bank policies. Over the year, […]