The Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System posted a 2.3 per cent return for 2018, pulling in $2.2 billion. In 2017, the fund saw a return of 11.5 per cent for the year and boosted its funded status to 94 per cent. For 2018, the funded status saw further gains, landing at 96 per cent. “The […]
From the end of 2015 to the end of 2017, impact investing in Canada has grown by 81 per cent, representing $14.75 billion, according to a new report by the Responsible Investment Association. “Like any pre-teen, impact investing currently sits on the edge of youthful maturity,” said Kelly Gauthier, RIA board member and managing director of impact advisory at […]
The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec ended 2018 with a return of 4.2 per cent, beating its benchmark portfolio, which returned 2.4 per cent, and bringing the portfolio to a net asset total of $309.5 billion. “In 2018, our investment strategy was put to the test. For the first time in several years, global stock […]
Ontario’s defined benefit pension plans had a median solvency ratio of 94 per cent at the end of 2018, according to the Financial Services Commission of Ontario’s latest report. The median ratio represents a decline from the previous quarter, which sat at 101 per cent as of Sept. 30, 2018. More than half (53.9 per cent) […]
Following years of steady, globally synchronized growth, volatility is back. In the final weeks of 2018, North American stock markets were especially hectic, posting losses in December to round out a relatively challenging year. Virtually every asset class, with the notable exception of commodities, has done well over the past decade, says Bert Clark, president […]
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its net assets by $0.2 billion during its third fiscal quarter, pushing overall assets up to $368.5 billion, off a 1.1 per cent return. “Broad declines in global public equity markets created a challenging investment environment during the quarter,” said Mark Machin, president and chief executive officer of […]
Canadian defined benefit pension plans finished 2018 in negative territory, according to two new reports. Pension plans in RBC Investor & Treasury Services’ universe posted an annual return of negative 0.7 per cent, reversing gains from the previous three quarters of the year, and substantially lower than 2017’s annual return of 9.7 per cent. Canadian equities and […]
The name of the game is engagement, according to a new report by NEI Investments. In 2018, engagement with investee companies on environmental, social and governance factors was a major undertaking for the firm. It actively engaged with 118 companies on these topics, comprising 40 per cent of its overall equity holdings. “We are committed to helping […]
In 2018, investment in Canadian real estate turned out to be a broadly lucrative venture for the country’s institutional investors, especially when compared with how poorly equities performed during the year, according to Simon Fairchild, executive director at MSCI Inc. Speaking at an event in Toronto on Friday, Fairchild described how MSCI’s Realpac Canada property index […]
Institutional plan sponsors lost a median of 3.8 per cent in 2018, as losses in the fourth quarter of the year dragged down returns, according to new data by Northern Trust Corp. The Northern Trust Universe, which tracks the performance of about 300 large U.S. institutional investment plans with a combined asset value of about $925.7 billion, found […]