The aggregate funded ratio for Canadian defined benefit pension plans increased from 96.9 per cent to 100.8 per cent during 2022, according to Aon’s latest pension risk tracker. The tracker, which calculates the aggregate funded position on an accounting basis for companies in the S&P/TSX composite index with DB plans, also found pension assets lost […]
In 2014, Colyn Lowenberger, then the director of pension and disability administration at the City of Regina, heard a knock at his office door — it was opportunity. After walking into the room, the chair of the Regina Civic Employees’ Superannuation and Benefit Plan asked Lowenberger to discuss a list of concerns about the defined […]
A bill intended to provide defined benefit pension plan members with super-priority should be a major concern for Canadian DB plan sponsors, according to LifeWorks Inc.’s latest monthly pension indices report. “While the goal of [Bill C-228] is to protect the pensions of members and retirees in the event of a company’s insolvency, it could […]
Despite concerns about global economic headwinds, the Bank of Canada’s successful efforts to curb inflation is capturing the attention of institutional investors, says Kathrin Forrest, a Toronto-based equity investment specialist at Capital Group Inc. “It’s surprised market participants,” says Forrest, referring to the central bank’s Oct. 26 decision to increase interest rates for the sixth […]
The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan is facing losses from an investment in a cryptocurrency exchange that filed for bankruptcy on Nov. 11. The pension fund invested a total of US$95 million in FTX International, a Bahamas-based exchange, which was valued at US$32 billion in 2021. In October 2021, the Ontario Teachers’ invested US$75 million in FTX, followed by […]
Canada’s defined benefit pension plans improved on both a solvency basis and an accounting basis in October, according to a new report by LifeWorks Inc. The monthly pension indices report found the average Canadian DB pension plan saw its solvency ratio rise to 103.2 per cent, up 3.1 per cent from the previous month. On […]
It may take up to 18 months for central banks policies to curb inflation to around two per cent on an annual basis, says Julianna Spiropoulos, partner and head of investment strategy, investment and risk at LifeWorks Inc. “Around the world, there’s concern about persistent inflation. . . . Central banks need to get inflation […]
The value of a typical Canadian defined benefit pension plan’s assets declined in September, according to LifeWorks Inc.’s latest monthly report. An investment portfolio designed to mimic typical Canadian DB portfolios saw its assets shrink by 2.8 per cent over the month. The value of the benchmark portfolio, which is composed of 50 per cent […]
Institutional investors’ best laid plans sometimes go awry — especially following global pandemics. During a presentation at the Canadian Investment Review‘s 2022 Risk Management Conference, Marc Gauthier, treasurer and chief investment officer at Concordia University, said the dramatic events shaping the world in the past two years have challenged the university’s carefully designed investment model. […]
The average Canadian defined benefit pension plan’s projected benefit obligation fell 3.4 per cent during the third quarter of 2022, from 100.5 per cent to 97.2 per cent, and considerably faster than asset values, according to Aon’s latest pension risk tracker. While market volatility led to asset values decreasing by 0.1 per cent in the […]