Despite the ongoing geopolitical and economic volatility that marked 2025 and will continue to shape 2026, institutional investors are taking a measured approach and viewing their portfolios through a long-term lens. “You can indicate those risks, but it’s not going to change the way we invest — it’s just an added risk,” says Jennifer Shum, […]
At Canada Pension Plan Investments, the willingness to change your mind after meaningful world changes is just as important as the conviction of the rigorous investment process, says Heather Tobin, the organization’s senior managing director and global head of capital markets and factor investing. The pursuit of a highly diversified global portfolio requires multiple alpha […]
A new war breaking out in Iran is highlighting the effects of a new era of geopolitics as a recurring macro driver for institutional investors, said Monica Defend, head of the Amundi Investment Institute, in an emailed statement to Benefits Canada. “We are moving further into a ‘controlled disorder’ environment, where shocks generate rotation and […]
The last decade has seen seismic shifts in geopolitical, macroeconomic, capital market and technological trends. Today, uncertainty abounds: U.S. policy has become increasingly erratic, and artificial intelligence is advancing at a pace that promises massive productivity gains as well as disruption. How can investors navigate so much change and ongoing uncertainty? Here are some lessons […]
The average Canadian defined benefit pension plan returned 0.6 per cent during the fourth quarter of 2025, down from 4.4 per cent in the previous quarter, according to a new report by the Royal Bank of Canada Investor Services. It found the average DB plan returned 7.9 per cent for the full year, down from […]
An article on the future of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero and its impact on institutional investors was the most-read investment story on BenefitsCanada.com this year. Here are the top 10 investment stories of 2025: 1. Unraveling of Carney-led GFANZ doesn’t spell end of global climate action: expert 2. Financial markets resilient in […]
Heightened volatility could make defined benefit pension plan sponsors pause before deciding how to approach the use of favourable financial positions resulting in surpluses. While Canadian DB plan sponsors have been in surplus on a going concern basis for a significant amount of time, many are now facing a surplus situation on a solvency basis, […]
On Sept. 30, more than 80 defined contribution pension plan sponsors, consultants, asset managers and other industry stakeholders met at the Omni King Edward Hotel in Toronto for the 2025 DC Investment Forum to glean insights into the tools and strategies that plan sponsors can use to guide members into the future and support their […]
Canadian financial institutions are staring down the barrel of a new world dynamic between Canada and the U.S. and Mark Zelmer, former deputy superintendent of financial institutions at the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, wonders if they’re prepared. “What is becoming increasingly clear is that certainly our relation to the U.S. [is] going […]
The current uncertainty around tariffs and trade policy is dominating institutional investors’ macro view of fixed income, said Alexander M. Mackey, co‐chief investment officer of fixed income at MFS Investment Management, during a session at the Canadian Investment Review’s 2025 Risk Management Conference. To reduce the noise of the uncertainty, his day-to-day focus is dominated […]