While many financial institutions are issuing green bonds, Sun Life Financial is the first insurance company globally to issue a sustainability bond, which will cover investments in both green assets and other assets serving a broader social purpose. Last week, Sun Life announced it’s issuing a $750 million principal amount of Series 2019-1 subordinated unsecured […]
While many financial institutions are issuing green bonds, Sun Life Financial is the first insurance company globally to issue a sustainability bond, which will cover investments in both green assets and other assets serving a broader social purpose. On Wednesday, Sun Life announced it’s issuing a $750 million principal amount of Series 2019-1 subordinated unsecured […]
Global market volatility drove Canadian defined benefit pension plans’ median returns lower in the second quarter of 2019, according to BNY Mellon Asset Management Canada Ltd. and RBC Investor and Treasury Services. Among the 84 Canadian corporate, public and university pension plans in BNY Mellon’s tracking service, the quarterly return was just 2.34 per cent, compared to […]
As active attempts to dismantle globalization are disrupting businesses already using tools to push growth and profitability forward, institutional investors need to remain vigilant after a decade of steady gains. Regardless of the asset class, cash flows over the last decade have been above average and even wildly abundant in some cases, says Robert Almeida, […]
In the first half of 2019, the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec has earned an average return on depositors’ funds of 6.1 per cent, generating more than $18 billion in net investment results. “From a market perspective, we are living in roller coaster times,” said Michael Sabia, the fund’s president and chief investment officer, […]
The People’s Bank of China announced that it’s opening up its financial markets to foreign investors in several new and quite granular ways. Among the developments, China is allowing foreign-funded institutions to conduct credit rating business on assets in the country’s inter-bank and exchange bond markets. Andrew Mattock, a portfolio manager at Matthews Asia, recalls […]
The British Columbia Investment Management Corp. posted a combined net return of 6.1 per cent for its fiscal year, which ended March 31, 2019. Adding $2 billion in value, the organization increased its assets under management to $153.4 billion and beat its combined market benchmark, which returned 4.5 per cent. Private assets drove the outperformance, with income generation and […]
Canadian defined benefit plans posted a median return of 2.5 per cent during the second quarter of 2019, according to data by Northern Trust Corp. The small gain marked the second consecutive quarter of positive growth, despite global growth concerns and worries over ongoing trade disputes contributing to equity volatility in developed markets. “In the midst of uncertainty surrounding […]
What effect do low interest rates really have on how pension funds invest and what are the long-term consequences? When plan sponsors are underfunded, they have a few set options, according to a new paper by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. For a state-sponsored plan, the choice of whether to take on assets with higher […]
Institutional portfolios have been tilted towards growth assets as they’ve reached for higher returns during the bull market of the last decade. But as the business cycle continues to stretch, it’s a prudent time to consider downside protection measures. Wylie Tollette, executive vice-president and head of client investment solutions for Franklin Templeton’s multi-asset solutions business, […]