An article on the Ontario government’s return-to-office mandate for provincial employees was the most-read story on BenefitsCanada.com this past week. Here are the top five human resources, benefits, pension and investment stories of the last week: 1. My Take: Ontario’s latest return-to-work mandate is misinformed, short-sighted 2. Ontario Teachers’ investing US$40 million in HR platform, […]
Increased allocations to private assets are pushing total fund fees and causing institutional investors to review their investment management partners’ fee packages, says Duncan Higgs, managing director and head of portfolio solutions at bfinance. Underlying fees in alternative investment markets — such as carried interest and waterfall structures — are increasingly considered by investors dealing […]
The Nova Scotia Pension Services Corp. is appointing Cathy Clarke as chief pensions officer, effective Sept. 30. Clarke joined the NSPSC in 2011 and has led its employer services team since 2012. She succeeds Kim Blinn, who’s retiring next month. Read more People Watch news. “Cathy’s extensive understanding of our plans and operations, paired with her strong […]
The Ontario Pension Board is reporting an 8.1 per cent investment return for 2024, pushing its net assets under management to $34.1 billion. The one-year return fell short of the OPB’s benchmark (11 per cent), while its five- and 10-year returns were 3.8 per cent and 5.3 per cent, respectively. Global (26.9 per cent) and […]
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board says it earned a net return of one per cent for the first quarter of fiscal 2026. John Graham, chief executive officer of the investment organization, says shifting trade dynamics and broader geopolitical uncertainty fuelled renewed volatility in global markets during the quarter. Read: CPPIB returns 9.3% in latest fiscal […]
The late-stage venture and growth investment arm at the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan is investing US$40 million in artificial intelligence-powered human capital management platform Darwinbox. As part of the transaction, the Teachers’ Venture Growth is acquiring a stake in the technology firm through primary and secondary transactions. Darwinbox is driving an impressive adoption rate in the […]
The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec is reporting a mid-year 4.6 per cent investment return, up $23 billion pushing its net assets to $496 billion as at June 30, 2025. “Against significant rate increases, stock market concentration and challenges in real estate over the past five years, our portfolio held strong and outperformed […]
The real estate investment arm of one of the country’s largest pension funds is worried about the value of its assets if a B.C. billionaire is able to buy Hudson’s Bay Co.’s leases at its properties. In documents filed with the Ontario Superior Court, Oxford Properties Group argues transferring leases to “an unvetted and unproven” […]
The pursuit of reduced energy emissions portfolios from institutional investors is putting pressure on the efficiency of energy transition plans from investee companies. Despite a growing uncertainty caused by pushback against an environmental, social and governance driven investment lens, companies and investors need to think about environmental causes with a long-term risk perspective, says Sagar […]
The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan is reporting a 2.1 per cent return halfway through 2025, with net assets increasing to $269.6 billion. In the first half of the year, the investment organization achieved net investment income of $6 billion, which pushed its net assets by $3.3 billion from its year-end figure. Read: Ontario Teachers’ returns […]