Recent challenges to the 60/40 balanced portfolio rule shouldn’t sway institutional investors away from the strategy, said Steve Foerster, professor of finance at Western University’s Ivey Business School, during the Canadian Investment Review’s 2023 Investment Innovation Conference in November. “Regardless of what’s happening now, we don’t want to confuse strategic asset allocation, which is what […]
For institutional investors, valuation reviews will be critical in navigating equity market uncertainties, said Amy Chang, managing director and head of active global fundamental at the British Columbia Investment Management Corp., during the Canadian Investment Review’s 2023 Investment Innovation Conference in November. “I think this focus on business quality and looking at individual opportunities is […]
After two years of underperformance, global real estate investment trusts are expected to outperform in 2024 due to a decline of supply and resilient corporate valuations, according to a new report from Hazelview Investments. It found global REITs saw a turnaround rally of 18.9 per cent over the last two months of 2023, leading the […]
More than two-fifths of small- and medium-sized employers say labour shortages (46 per cent) and employee retention (42 per cent) are among their top business concerns for 2024, according to a new survey by Peninsula Employment Services Ltd. The survey, which polled 79,000 SMEs across Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and the U.K., found more […]
Canada’s 100 highest-paid chief executive officers — who are overwhelmingly male — were paid an average of $14.9 million in 2022, 246-times more than the average employee wage and setting a new record, according to a new report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. It found in 2022, Canadian employees received an average pay […]
With the arrival of the new year, there are three topics that will be important for pension plan sponsors, members and other industry stakeholders in 2024. The economy and financial markets At the end of 2023, the Canadian economy and the financial markets were still feeling the after-effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Read: Expert panel: […]
A story on how plan sponsors and insurers are considering covering weight-loss drugs as part of a broader push towards more inclusive benefits was the most-read benefits story on BenefitsCanada.com this year. Here are the 10 most popular benefits news stories of the year: 1. How plan sponsors, insurers are considering coverage of weight-loss drugs amid rising […]
Between 2000 and 2022, the average retirement age among Canadians climbed from 61.6 to 64.6, the highest it’s been since 1982, according to data from Statistics Canada. The agency’s June 2023 labour force survey found 22 per cent of Canadians aged 55 to 59 were either partially or completely retired. The same was true of […]
Nearly all (92 per cent) Canadian employers say they plan to award a year-end bonus to their teams, according to a new survey by Robert Half Canada Inc. The survey, which polled more than 900 employers, found nearly half (45 per cent) said they’re awarding a larger bonus than last year, while two-fifths (39 per […]
While the majority (87 per cent) of defined contribution pension plan sponsors feel their members are somewhat or very prepared for retirement, only 63 per cent of members feel the same way, according to a new survey by Voya Investment Management. The survey, which polled 305 U.S. DC plan sponsors, 205 plan specialists and 500 […]