With only a few weeks left in a year impacted by trade wars, equity concentration risk and the increased appeal of artificial intelligence opportunities, defined benefit plan sponsors, money managers and other investment professionals gathered at the Fairmont Empress Hotel in Victoria, B.C. for the Canadian Investment Review’s 2025 Investment Innovation Conference. From Nov. 19-21, […]
The current moment is rooted in shifting ideas, characterized by the rise and fall of globalization, said Sean Speer, editor-at-large at the Hub and a practitioner-in-residence and fellow at the Public Policy Forum, in the opening keynote at the Canadian Investment Review’s 2025 Investment Innovation Conference. The stagflation of the 1970s, the elections of Margaret […]
Danish pension fund AkademikerPension is divesting nearly US$100 million in U.S. treasuries, citing weak U.S. government finances. In a press release, Anders Schelde, the organization’s investment director, clarified the decision wasn’t made in response to recent U.S. threats to annex Greenland, a Danish territory. “It is not directly related to the ongoing division between the […]
The Pension Investment Association of Canada will monitor the ongoing progress of several policies related to environmental and sustainability solutions. Last year’s federal budget indicated greenwashing provisions would be coming to the Competition Act at a time when the pension association has advocated for clear and flexible environmental, social and governance reporting guidelines, which would […]
After an eventful 2025, there are several developments and trends affecting Canadian defined benefit pension plan sponsors in 2026. Focus on investment strategy Major equity markets performed well in 2025, which was a key driver for another year of improved funded positions for many DB pension plans. Although most pension plans are well funded today, […]
Not everyone can say they’ve spent two decades at the same organization, but Candy Wong, portfolio manager of external managers and international strategies at Manitoba’s Civil Service Superannuation Board, is now in her 21st year at the public sector pension plan. “I don’t think you can foresee where you’re going to be, especially in finance. […]
As institutional investors navigate complex markets and demanding governance requirements, Grace Uniacke, director of alternatives solutions at Russell Investments, suggests they move their portfolios from disconnected compartments towards integrated, connected systems. “This can be done in incremental tweaks, but more so as a structural upgrade to how we design, construct and manage institutional portfolios,” she said during […]
A special report from the United Nations calling out investment decisions by the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec doesn’t recognize fiduciary obligations in the pension fund system, says Level Chan, a partner at Stewart McKelvey. “It’s with that particular lens that pension funds have to invest. . . . It probably would be […]
Against a backdrop of unpredictability on the global stage, Canadian institutional investors continue to face several competing headwinds, including a push from the federal government to encourage more investment domestically, central banks’ developing policies to tame inflation and a new U.S. president already making his imprint on foreign affairs. At the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise […]
The cost of doing business under the current U.S. administration is getting more expensive and uncertain, said Cliff Kupchan, chairman at Eurasia Group, during the keynote session at the Canadian Investment Review’s 2025 Global Investment Conference. Firms are operating under an increasingly uncertain investment climate in the U.S., he said, noting many of his organization’s […]