The total number of active registered pension plan members in Canada rose nine per cent between 2006 and 2016, from 5.8 million to 6.3 million, according to a new notice from the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions. The percentage of active registered members participating in a contributory plan also increased during this period, rising from […]
Measuring happiness has a role to play in determining the success of retirement solutions and their outcomes, according to a new global survey by State Street Global Advisors. The survey focused on the individual qualitative characteristics of trust, preparedness and ownership associated with certain countries’ retirement systems, exploring how happiness can be pertinent to overall perceptions […]
Tension between pension adequacy and sustainability is growing across the world, according to the annual Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index. The Netherlands and Denmark have the best global pension systems, with scores of 80.3 and 80.2, respectively, and both achieving A grades. They scored highly on adequacy and sustainability, while other European countries, such as Austria, […]
The average Canadian isn’t rational about money, according to a personal finance expert speaking at the 2018 Defined Contribution Investment Forum in Toronto in September. “Personal finance is 90 per cent psychology and eight per cent math,” said Preet Banerjee. “The missing two per cent is a testament to how unimportant the math really is.” […]
The traditional move away from equities to fixed income over a target-date fund’s glide path is too simplistic to produce optimal outcomes for members, according to Neil Walton. Speaking at the 2018 Defined Contribution Investment Forum in Toronto in September, Walton, head of investment solutions in the portfolio solutions group at Schroders Investment Management, told […]
The basic advantages of passive investing are clear: it typically leads to lower fees, it reduces the chance of serious underperformance and investments are normally quite liquid, said Kurt Umbarger at the 2018 Defined Contribution Investment Forum in September. Of course, there are potential disadvantages, he acknowledged during his presentation at the event in Toronto. […]
From a research perspective, very little is actually known about the post-retirement phase for defined contribution plan members, according to one expert. A lot of past logic about this phase has been problematic, said Stephen Utkus, principal and director at the Vanguard Center for Investor Research, at the 2018 Defined Contribution Investment Forum in Toronto in September. The […]
Even though many plan sponsors are moving away from defined benefit plans, many organizations still have a paternalistic culture and want to help guide their employees towards a successful retirement, Nick Nefouse told delegates at the 2018 Defined Contribution Investment Forum in Toronto in September. Plan sponsors are asking for help with this goal, but […]
As the investment landscape gets more complicated, defined contribution pension plan members’ investment options need to keep up, said Chhad Aul at the 2018 Defined Contribution Investment Forum in Toronto in September. Portfolio managers are currently operating in a unique environment, said Aul, portfolio manager at Sun Life Global Investments. This includes the easing off of many central banks’ […]
Ensuring a glide path’s asset allocation is correct is really important since it’s going to be managing the bulk of positions for so many defined contribution plan members, according to Ruthann Pritchard, speaking at the 2018 Defined Contribution Investment Forum in Toronto in September. While the level of equity within the glide path at any given moment […]