The Association of Canadian Pension Management is advising the Canadian Association of Pension Supervisory Authorities to take a less prescriptive approach in its proposed guidelines on risks related to environmental, social and governance factors, cybersecurity and leverage. In an open letter to the CAPSA, the ACPM said a one-size-fits-all approach to ESG regulation could potentially […]
While defined contribution pension plans currently outnumber defined benefit pension plans, this wasn’t always the case, recalls Bita Jenab, a principal at RetirementWorks Services Inc. DC plans began to gain popularity in the mid-1980s, due to a combination of legislative and economic changes, she adds. “This period marks the introduction of pension accounting rules under […]
The vast majority (87 per cent) of 401(k) retirement plans — covering more than 90 per cent of 401(k) plan members — offer employer contributions, according to a report by BrightScope Inc. and the Investment Company Institute. The report, which analyzed 64,000 large private sector 401(k) plans, found employer contributions represented 31 per cent of […]
While publicly traded real estate investment trusts have been impacted by rising interest rates, the extent of the impact varies from market to market, said Corrado Russo, managing partner and head of global securities at Hazelview Investments, during a session at the Canadian Investment Review‘s 2022 Risk Management Conference. “It’s not shocking to see those [markets] that […]
The use of a four-state probability model can more accurately predict stock market phases and improve investment and risk management decisions, said Tom McCurdy, professor of finance and Bonham chair in international finance at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, during the Canadian Investment Review’s 2022 Risk Management Conference. The proposed model incorporates […]
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 […]
The market value of assets held by Canadian trusteed pension funds decreased 2.9 per cent to $2.21 trillion in the first quarter of 2022, down from $2.27 trillion in the previous quarter, according to new data from Statistics Canada. Within trusteed plans, public sector assets decreased 1.8 per cent to $1.48 trillion, accounting for 79 […]
The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec generated an average return of negative 7.9 per cent for the first half of 2022. The investment organization reached the mid-year point with $392 billion in net assets, down from $420.2 billion at the end of the previous quarter. This $28.2 billion decrease consisted of a net […]
The Ontario Municipal Employees’ Retirement System is investing in an Arizona-based solar energy business. In a deal reached with Clairvest Group Inc., the institutional investor secured a minority stake in NovaSource Power Services, which provides solar panel servicing for industrial and residential customers and manages 20 gigawatts of solar assets. Following the transaction, Clairvest will […]