As global equities overcame inflationary fears and continued an upward trend, Canadian pension plan investment returns increased during the second quarter of 2021, with the median plan returning 4.1 per cent, according to Northern Trust Canada’s pension universe. “The course of the pandemic has certainly taught us attributes about strength and adaptation, fundamentals we can […]
Canada’s economy will undergo volatility and inflationary acceleration as the nation recovers from the coronavirus pandemic, warns the governor of the Bank of Canada. “The process of reopening the economy won’t be entirely smooth,” said Tiff Macklem in a speech announcing the release of the central bank’s monetary policy report. “For example, we are experiencing supply […]
Almost 16 months since the global coronavirus pandemic was first declared, there’s now yet another thing for institutional investors to worry about — the possibility of inflation. Lately, much has been made of the potential for inflation to emerge given sustained low interest rates and the large deficits that many governments have incurred due to […]
The funded position for an average Canadian defined benefit pension plan improved slightly during May, with a solvency of 108.2 per cent, according to a new report by LifeWorks Inc. (formerly Morneau Shepell Ltd.) On an accounting basis, it found expenses for the average pension plan had dropped precipitously since the beginning of 2021, at […]
A defined benefit pension plan leader rarely gets to work with a “blank canvas,” but Chuck Bruce has taken that unique opportunity and drawn a new way forward for more than 56,000 DB plan members in Newfoundland and Labrador. In late 2014, the province and its five largest unions established Provident10 to administer and oversee […]
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 […]