As interest rates return to pre-pandemic levels, fixed income is returning to its role as an equities hedge, according to a webinar on Wednesday hosted by AllianceBernstein Canada Inc. “As we see rates rise back to where they were at the end of 2019, there’s gas in the tank for fixed income to play that […]
Inflation break-evens at multi-year highs and higher nominal yields are putting some upward pressure on real yields in Canada, according to a new report by FTSE Russell. The firm found first-quarter 2021 performance returns showed a sell-off in government bonds, led by longer U.K., U.S. and Canadian government bonds, as the reflation trade gained momentum. […]
Canada’s defined benefit pension plans’ funded positions continue to improve in 2021, ending the first quarter at their highest levels in more than 20 years, according to Mercer Canada’s pension health index. It found solvency ratios increased from 114 per cent at the end of 2020 to 124 per cent at the end of March 2021, with the median solvency ratio […]
Despite adjustments to operations and investments during the coronavirus pandemic, Canada’s major pension plan leaders are maintaining a long-term view by looking ahead to a post-pandemic world. But we’re not out of the woods yet as Canada, and the rest of the world, are likely many months away from reaching herd immunity and thus life […]
United States 10-year bond yields have risen substantially from their lows of 0.50 per cent last summer, hitting 1.6 per cent by late February. Canadian 10-year yields have taken a similar trajectory to reach a range of 1.5 per cent in March, which is up from 0.43 per cent in August. At the short end […]
The vast majority (85 per cent) of institutional investors who already engage with Bitcoin plan to increase their investment in the cryptocurrency over the next two years, according to a survey commissioned by Nickel Digital Asset Management. Additionally between now and 2023, 72 per cent of those surveyed expect professional investors in general to invest […]
Coronavirus vaccinations and the US$1.9-trillion fiscal stimulus package are paving the way for the U.S. economy to recover as the world enters the second year of the coronavirus pandemic, in turn driving investor demand for equities and risk assets, according to a recent webinar hosted by Natixis Investment Managers. Esty Dwek, global market strategist at […]
This time last year, the FTSE Canadian universe bond index was yielding a paltry 2.3 per cent and few, if any, anticipated how strong fixed-income returns would be in 2020. Over the year, the index returned 8.7 per cent due to a significant drop in interest rates in the first half as the Bank of […]
Canada’s central bank will update its economic forecast for the country Wednesday when it announces its interest-rate decision, offering a glimpse into its outlook for COVID-19 recovery. The Bank of Canada said in October the country had been spared from a worst-case economic scenario, but it still didn’t see a recovery taking hold until at […]
While institutional investors are facing headwinds from unexpected inflation and geopolitical realignment in 2021, the coming year will also see rebounds for corporate earnings and equities, according to two new research papers from Mercer. “Non-stop social and technological change has increased at a rate as exciting as it’s bewildering and COVID-19 has resulted in an […]