The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and U.K.-based Lightsource BP are investing $260 million to finance a portfolio of solar assets owned and managed by Lightsource. The debt investment will be used to finance a portfolio composed of more than 100 solar projects across various countries, totalling more than 700 megawatts, with the potential to expand over […]
John Bai is joining NEI Investments and Aviso Wealth Inc. as vice-president and chief investment officer. In the new role, he’ll handle the strategic direction of the firms’ investment approach and philosophy, including the asset allocation process, sub-advisor research and due diligence, according to a press release. With more than 25 years in the investment industry, Bai […]
Fiera Capital Corp. and Natixis Investment Managers are entering a long-term strategic partnership that will establish Fiera Capital as Natixis’ preferred Canadian distribution platform. Through the partnership, Natixis has acquired an 11 per cent stake in Fiera Capital. “This partnership with Natixis will further strengthen Fiera Capital’s global leadership position as we continue to execute on […]
An outsourced chief investment officer provides external expertise that can ease the minds of plan sponsors overwhelmed by pension management decisions. While the services have traditionally been used by defined benefit plans, do they translate to defined contribution plan management? John Jenner, vice-president of finance at Electrozad: Although today’s world is geographically the same size […]
While defined benefit plans are traditionally known for their paternalism, defined contribution pensions represent the next generation. Learning from their parents’ years of investment experience, DC plans are catching up, but hurdles still exist in the quest to invest like DB plans. The liquidity question As more DC plan sponsors consider adding illiquid alternatives to […]
Strong governance allowed the Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology pension plan to find success in private markets, according to Julie Cays, the plan’s chief investment officer. Before the CAAT plan hired its first CIO in 2004, it was using an outsourced chief investment officer-type model — although it didn’t use this term at the […]
In a tough year for the returns of many pension plans, the Alberta Investment Management Corp. returned an aggregate net return of 2.5 per cent in 2018. “Market volatility made 2018 a challenging year,” said Dale MacMaster, the corporation’s chief investment officer, in a press release. “Delivering a positive return for our clients was a […]
Current economic factors like low bond yields, which make it quite difficult for pension plans to meet their long-term return requirements, are driving institutional investors to allocate more to alternatives, according to Jason Campbell, a principal at Eckler Ltd. “Growth in alternatives has been steady and quite significant,” he said during a Canadian Investment Review webinar on […]
Almost half (47 per cent) of institutional investors are interested in including digital assets in their investment portfolios, according to a survey by Fidelity Investments Inc. The study, which surveyed more than 400 U.S. institutional investors, including pension plans, family offices, crypto and traditional hedge funds, found 22 per cent of respondents said they already have some exposure to […]
With global equities rebounding after a volatile end to 2018, Canadian defined benefit pension plans posted positive returns in the first quarter of 2019, according to new data by Northern Trust Corp. The Northern Trust Canada Universe, which tracks the performance of Canadian institutional investment plans using the firm’s asset servicing offerings, found Canadian plans posted a median […]