The Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology pension plan’s funding status dipped slightly in 2019, to 118 per cent on a going-concern basis from 120 per cent in 2018. In its latest actuarial valuation report, the CAAT attributed the solid status to excellent investment returns over the past 10 years, as well as its membership growth strategy, […]
While Canadian pension plans are looking further afield for real estate opportunities, are there fresh buys on the home front? Rental apartments are one subset of the asset class that Canadian plans should consider for domestic growth, says Jeffrey Olin, president, chief executive officer and portfolio manager at Vision Capital Corp. Millennials are growing up, […]
Corporate governance, climate change and human rights in the digital economy are primary focuses for Northwest & Ethical Investments in 2020. The Canadian firm’s annual corporate engagement focus list highlights five key themes and 26 investee companies it intends to engage with throughout the year. It’s planning to engage companies on governance issues including board diversity and board and […]
The majority (79 per cent) of pension fund and private equity professionals expect their passive private equity allocations to either stay the same or increase in 2020, according to a new survey by Torys LLP. Pension funds, in particular, cited competition for new investment opportunities (65 per cent) and pressure from limited partners to provide co-investment […]
The OPSEU Pension Trust saw a strong 2019, ending the year with an 11.2 per cent net investment return and maintaining its fully funded status. The plan’s total assets grew from almost $20 billion of net assets in 2018 to almost $22 billion in 2019, according to its 2019 funded status report. In other highlights from […]
The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec is acquiring 717,701 additional shares of Azure Power Global Ltd., bringing its total holdings in the company to 24,259,272 shares, or 50.9 per cent of the total outstanding stock. Azure Power is an independent Indian solar-power producer with a portfolio of assets generating more than seven gigawatts. “We have built […]
The solvency levels of Canadian defined benefit pension plans are down off the back of roiling equity and bond markets in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. Aon’s latest median solvency ratio survey found DB plans were down 6.7 per cent on average, from 102.5 per cent in early January to 95.8 per cent at […]
Northcrest Developments, a real estate subsidiary of the Public Sector Pension Investment Board, is launching a development project in Toronto, alongside the Canada Lands Co. The site, known as Downsview, is 520 acres and includes the Downsview Airport, which is slated for closure in 2023. While details of the development plans are largely unknown, a consultation process on how best […]
The most material and least quantifiable risks for mining companies lie in the social component of environmental, social and governance issues — and that’s where institutional investors looking at the sector should be focusing their attention and advocacy. Speaking at a panel discussion in Toronto on March 3, Amy Freedman, chief executive officer of shareholder […]
Close to a quarter (23 per cent) of institutional investors said they plan to reduce their cash balances, according to a new survey by BlackRock Inc. For fresh allocations, private markets remain the favourite by a wide margin. Indeed, more than half (55 per cent) of investors said they intend to up allocations to real […]