The United Nations’ Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance is reporting that 81 of its institutional investor members, representing combined assets under management of US$9.4 trillion, have set intermediate decarbonization targets. In its fourth progress report, the institutional investor association also reported reductions in absolute financed emissions of, on average, at least six per cent annually. The […]
The ratio of the market value of assets to the projected benefit obligation for a hypothetical benchmark plan changed little for global defined benefit pension plans in the third quarter of 2024, according to a new report by WTW. It found this ratio increased among DB plans in Brazil (0.9 per cent), Canada (1.2 per […]
The Canadian edition of an international set of sustainability investment disclosure standards will be officially released in December, according to the Canadian Sustainability Standards Board. The organization was tasked with creating a set of sustainability investment standards in Canada based on those created by the International Sustainability Standards Board. The two new disclosure metrics — CSDS […]
Alberta’s finance minister has sacked the chief executive officer and entire board of directors of the Alberta Investment Management Corp., the Crown corporation that manages pension and other funds for the province and handles more than $160 billion in assets. Finance Minister Nate Horner said in a statement Thursday that the changes at the AIMCo are due […]
While an arduous U.S. presidential election cycle may have created some market volatility, any uncertainties among Canadian institutional investors may begin to wane following Donald Trump’s election as the 47th U.S. president on Wednesday, says Ian Riach, senior vice-president and portfolio manager at Franklin Templeton Investment Solutions. “Economics tend to trump politics . . . . […]
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board is investing roughly US$515 million to acquire a 24.5 per cent stake in video games service provider Keywords Studios. The acquisition of the Ireland-based firm is being completed alongside EQT AB and Temasek Holdings Ltd. In a press release, Caitlin Gubbels, senior managing director and head of private equity […]
While political tensions have recently flared between Canada and India, institutional investors are unlikely to adjust their capital allocation to the country, says Partha Mohanram, John H. Watson chair in value investing at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. “I don’t [have] any indication that you’re going to see any kind […]
The average Canadian defined benefit pension plan returned 5.1 per cent during the third quarter of 2024, an increase from 1.1 per cent in the previous quarter, according to a new report by RBC Investor Services. It found Canadian DB plans achieved an average return of 9.6 per cent on a year-to-date basis. The growth […]
In its fall economic statement on Wednesday, the Ontario government said it plans to consult with pension industry stakeholders on the possibility of offering variable life benefits to employees in the province. In 2021, the federal government made amendments to the federal Income Tax Act to permit Canadian jurisdictions to regulate this new pension option, […]
Defined benefit pension plans support more than one million beneficiaries in Ontario and these benefits provided more than $34.6 billion to the province’s gross domestic product in 2023, according to a new report by the Conference Board of Canada on behalf of the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan, the OPSEU Pension Trust and the University […]