A global financial services and management platform firm backed by the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board is reporting US$2 trillion in assets on its platform. FNZ is partnered with more than 650 financial institutions and serves around 12,000 wealth management firms. The value of assets in […]
Ongoing demand from large technology companies and strong support from the U.S. government is solidifying the fundamentals of artificial intelligence investments for institutional investors, says Gurvir Grewal, a U.S. specialist from William Blair’s global equity team. “At the beginning of the year we had concerns around DeepSeek, we had political uncertainty with Trump and the […]
A new regime of higher bond yields is pushing defined benefit pension plan sponsors around the world to diversify asset holdings and increase liability-driven investment flows, according to a new report by FTSE Russell. Despite a nearly 10-year low for credit spreads, high absolute yields increased discount rates sharply for DB plans, particularly in the […]
Some of Canada’s largest institutional investors are looking for comprehensive and realistic climate transition plans from investees as part of an extensive due diligence process. However, Jennifer Coulson, global head of environmental, social and governance at the British Columbia Investment Management Corp. says these plans aren’t yet the norm, adding investors are working directly with […]
Canadian defined benefit pension plan sponsors have made roughly $1.4 billion in annuity purchases during the first two quarters of the year, according to a new report from Telus Health. At the halfway point of 2025, the pension risk transfer market has seen a considerable slowdown in activity following a record-breaking 2024, which resulted in […]
The Ontario Municipal Employees’ Retirement System is reporting a net investment return of 2.2 per cent as at June 30, 2025, representing a gain of $3.1 billion. Net assets under management at the OMERS have increased to $140.7 billion, compared to $138.2 billion at the end of 2024. Over a 10-year period, the investment organization […]
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 […]