Uncertainty on how U.S. and Chinese policies will affect trade, Italy’s budget standoff with the European Commission, worry over Brexit and the U.S. Federal Reserve’s monetary policy all imply volatility for the coming year, according to Russell Investment Canada Ltd.’s 2019 market outlook. The firm is remaining neutral on equities and underweight U.S. stock, though it’s maintaining a more […]
Canadian taxpayers are providing $22 billion each year to the country’s public sector pension plans by assuming undisclosed investment risks, according to a new report by public policy think-tank the Fraser Institute. In the report, its author Malcolm Hamilton suggested public pension funds view the income they provide to plan members on retirement as 20 […]
While many investors expect the U.S. bull market to end in 2019, some institutional investors are planning changes to their allocation strategy or return assumptions, according to a new survey by Natixis Investment Managers. The survey found about two-thirds of institutional investors expect the U.S. bull market to end in 2019, while 70 per cent […]
While global institutional investors’ ability to analyze fixed income products on environmental, social and governance factors is growing, the supply of socially or eco-savvy bonds isn’t keeping up with demand, according to new research by Cerulli Associates. “Cerulli research shows an increase in demand for ESG in all segments of the fixed-income market,” said André Schnurrenberger, […]
Though President Trump hasn’t been successful in following through his promise to construct a wall on the border between the United States and Mexico, he’s certainly stoked serious divisionism, with signals popping up the world over that nations are tugging on their drawbridges where trade, migration and other economic activities are concerned. Whether it’s the […]
The number of indexes at an investor’s fingertips grew by 12 per cent (or 438,000) in 2018, rising to 3.72 million distinct indexes globally as of June 30, 2018, according to a new report by the Index Industry Association. The association, which began tracking the world’s indexes in 2017, found fixed income was a popular theme during the […]
Seventy per cent of all capital committed to private credit is from institutional investors, according to a recent report by the Alternative Credit Council and Dechert LLP. Jiří Krόl, deputy chief executive officer of the Alternative Credit Council and the Alternative Investment Management Association, says that although private credit is a relatively new asset class, it has been […]
Increasing exposure to less liquid, alternative assets like infrastructure, real estate and private equity hasn’t created difficulty for Canadian pensions in repaying creditors, according to a report by Moody’s Corp. As pension portfolios have increased their allocations to alternatives, with these assets now making up close to 40 per cent of Canadian plan’s investments, concerns around liquidity […]
Will the environment of rising rates continue? And if so, over what period? And where can long-term investors find opportunities? Canadian Investment Review asked Robert Spector, fixed income portfolio manager at MFS Investment Management for his views. Spector says he thinks there will be further monetary tightening, which will have implications for short-term interest rates, […]
For the first time since the Financial Services Commission of Ontario began monitoring defined benefit pension solvency in 2009, the province’s DB plans posted a median solvency ratio above 100 per cent in the third quarter of 2018. As of Sept. 30, the solvency ratio reached 101 per cent, up from 97 per cent the previous quarter. […]