corporate bonds – Benefits Canada.com

New York State Common Retirement Fund curbing oil and gas investments

bmcgovern — Tue, 26 Mar 2024 19:00:43 +0000

The New York State Common Retirement Fund is restricting its exposure in eight integrated oil and gas companies, including divesting a portion of its investment in Exxon Mobil Corp. In a press release, New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said the decision was fueled by a review of the oil companies — Guanghui Energy Company, […]

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2023 DC Investment Forum: Why DC plan sponsors should consider a distinct credit exposure

Jennifer Paterson — Mon, 06 Nov 2023 12:56:52 +0000

While fixed income has long had the reputation of being the conservative and stable supporting partner in the traditional balanced portfolio, unbundling fixed income into its sub-components presents opportunities for enhanced risk-adjusted returns, said Aaron Young, vice-president and client portfolio manager at CIBC Asset Management. When investors buy the FTSE universe bond index or even […]

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Pensions in position to off load risks: expert

Gideon Scanlon — Tue, 07 Sep 2021 17:00:02 +0000

“Plans are, for the first time in a long time, in a position to off-load risk,” says Murray Wright, one of the contributors to LifeWorks Inc.’s monthly report on Canadian pensions. According to Wright, the principal of retirement and financial solutions at LifeWorks, pension chief financial officers are paying particular attention to one number found […]

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Head to head: Should plan sponsors buy annuities via insurers or go DIY?

bwolfe — Fri, 14 May 2021 12:59:54 +0000

Two experts weigh in on the merits and drawbacks of taking the traditional annuities route versus opting for the newer do-it-yourself option. Marco Dickner, retirement risk management leader for Willis Towers Watson in Canada Although annuity purchases have become an important pension risk management option over the last decade, a countertrend is emerging for plan […]

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How a central bank’s policy can impact investments on the other side of the world

mschmit — Wed, 21 Oct 2020 05:55:28 +0000

How do the European Central Bank’s monetary-policy decisions influence corporate debt levels in the U.S.? The ECB’s purchasing of investment-grade, corporate, Euro-denominated bonds seemingly crowded Eurozone institutional investors out of such instruments and Eurozone investors increased their allocations to U.S. dollar corporate bonds soon after, according to a new paper by Kerry Siani, a PhD […]

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How do sovereign bonds differ when it comes to ESG?

mschmit — Fri, 18 Sep 2020 04:37:15 +0000

Environmental, social and governance factors are highly relevant to fixed income investment outcomes, but integration is complicated by the variety of issuers within the asset class. For corporate fixed income, integration is quite simple. Issuers could use the same frameworks as their equity counterparts, such as the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board’s materiality map, said Joshua […]

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In perfect balance: Different approaches to rebalancing pension portfolios

mschmit — Tue, 01 Sep 2020 03:53:16 +0000

The recent market turmoil caused by the coronavirus crisis has increased the focus on rebalancing decisions for many Canadian pension plans. As certain asset classes outperform others, a portfolio’s asset mix will drift overtime from its long-term targets. To ensure no significant divergence from the target, rebalancing triggers the sale of the strong performing asset […]

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How resilient were bond funds in the face of coronavirus?

mschmit — Wed, 19 Aug 2020 06:42:29 +0000

Market turmoil caused by the coronavirus served as a real-life test for bond funds and their liquidity, according to a new paper from the Bank of Canada. The amount of corporate bonds held by open-ended fixed-income mutual funds is growing, sitting at around 23 per cent of the total market of corporate Canadian-dollar denominated bonds, […]

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Bank of Canada launches corporate bond purchase program

mschmit — Mon, 01 Jun 2020 06:23:32 +0000

Last week marked the beginning of an unprecedented one-year program through which the Bank of Canada is purchasing corporate bonds. The program, originally announced on April 15, aims to support the corporate debt market’s liquidity and “proper functioning.” It involves TD Asset Management purchasing bonds through a tender process on the secondary market on behalf […]

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Bank of Canada would have cut rates on oil shock alone, Poloz tells MPs

mschmit — Fri, 17 Apr 2020 04:21:06 +0000

The governor of the Bank of Canada says the central bank would have likely slashed its key interest rate in response to plunging oil prices, if that alone had been the only shock to the domestic economy. The cut might even have been to the current 0.25 per cent level it reached as the COVID-19 […]

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