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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Many defined benefit plans’ funded statuses are in relatively good territory, but with an uncertain investment atmosphere on the horizon, is now a good time for plans to consider taking risk off the table by purchasing an annuity? And for plans looking to de-risk in the future, what are the considerations from an investment perspective? […]
The complicated relationship between real estate and interest rates makes it important to know the role different types of properties play in a portfolio and to use public real estate for liquidity to keep a focus on core property, said Derek Warren, vice-president at Lincluden Investment Management. Speaking during a session at the 2018 Defined […]
The solvency positions of Canadian defined benefit pension plans declined in the fourth quarter of 2018 after experiencing gains in the first nine months of the year, according to Mercer’s latest pension health index. The median solvency ratio dropped to 95 per cent at the end of 2018 from 102 per cent at the end of […]
With the new year almost here, there are some interdependent themes investors should watch, such as central banks tightening policy, trade tensions and an increased focus on sustainability according to Mercer’s most recent paper on themes and opportunities for 2019. Chance of ‘white water’ turbulence There is evidence that credit is overextended, the paper said, […]