Equity funds in Canada suffered a fifth consecutive month of overwhelmingly negative returns in September amid high volatility and bleak economic news. This led to dismal results for the third quarter of 2011 for all 23 of the Morningstar Canada Fund Indices that track equity categories, with 16 of them losing more than 10%, according […]
The assets for the U.S.’s 100 largest public sector retirement plans rose 1.3% to US$2.8 trillion in the second quarter of 2011, according to the latest figures from the U.S. Census Bureau. The rise marks the highest level since the second quarter of 2008. Year-to-year, total assets rose 17.6%, or US$414 billion. Holdings of corporate […]
Originally from our sister publication, Advisor.ca. Investors should be cautiously optimistic about the outlook for Canada and emerging markets, two top experts at BMO said during a conference call on Friday. The Canadian scene On the economic front, we continue to perform relatively well,” said Paul Taylor, chief investment officer, BMO Harris Private Banking. Both […]
Events surrounding the credit issues of European sovereigns such as Greece, Portugal and Italy dominate the news. The idea of a country declaring bankruptcy seems difficult for most people—especially Canadians—to comprehend. We may consider the benefits of Greek citizens, such as reports of taxi drivers retiring at age 53, to be egregious, but also wonder […]
Canada has surpassed the United States for levels of economic freedom, according to a new report released today by the Fraser Institute, Canada’s leading public policy think-tank. Canada ranks sixth in the world for economic freedom with a score of 7.81 while the United States fell to 10th overall with a score of 7.60, according […]
The funded status of the typical U.S. corporate pension plan fell 5.6 percentage points in August, to 78%, as pension plans were affected by both falling assets and increasing liabilities for the second month in a row, according to BNY Mellon Asset Management. The typical plan is now at its lowest funding level since September […]
American corporate pension plans are underfunded by approximately $388 billion, according to a recent study by Credit Suisse. “The recent market turmoil has been unkind to many portfolios,” says the report, The Magic of Pension Accounting, Part V. “But it has been especially painful for defined benefit pension plans as they get hit with the […]
Watch this video The past decade has brought enormous changes in the global investment landscape, says Scott Berg, portfolio manager, global large-cap strategy with T. Rowe Price. He cites the tech bubble, Sept.11, housing booms, the global financial crisis and Japan’s earthquake as just a few of the events that have impacted the investment environment. […]
Pension, health and welfare reform in many countries has created significant challenges for multinational companies looking to manage the cost, risk and competitiveness of employee benefit programs, says Mercer. According to Mercer’s latest Benefit Plans Around the World Report (BPAW Report), pension and health reforms, prompted by an aging population and the growing cost of […]
There was no mention of a third round of quantitative easing, but the Federal Open Market Committee has announced it will leave interest rates near zero until at least mid-2013. The Federal Reserve has held rates at just 25 basis points since December 2008. Until today, the Fed had said it would keep it low […]