The Ontario Municipal Employees’ Retirement System returned 4.6 per cent in 2023, or $5.6 billion, in investment income in 2023, according to its latest year-end report. It found as of Dec. 31, 2023, the plan’s net assets stood at $128.6 billion, up from $124.2 billion in 2022. It also reported a funded status of 97 per […]
The average funding ratio for U.S. public pension plans declined to 75.4 per cent in 2023, compared to 77.8 per cent in the previous year, according to a new survey by the National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems. The report, which was based on responses from nearly 160 public pension funds with roughly US$2.3 […]
The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec has renewed the mandate of president and chief executive officer Charles Emond for a five-year period concluding Feb. 6, 2029. In a press release, Jean St-Gelais, chair of the Caisse’s board of directors, noted during the last four years under Emond’s leadership, the investment organization “has delivered […]
The average Canadian defined benefit pension plan posted returns of 8.2 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2023, according to RBC Investor Services. It found the average Canadian DB plan ended 2023 with a 9.1 per cent return, a significant increase from negative 10.3 per cent in 2022. Read: Average Canadian DB pension plan returns […]
The impacts of climate change and federal super-priority legislation on Canadian pension plans are among the issues that the Canadian Institute of Actuaries is monitoring in 2024, says Simon Nelson, a principal at Eckler Ltd. and chair of the CIA’s pension practice committee. While climate change is a consideration across all of the CIA’s practice […]
Multi-family real estate is set up for long-term sustained returns given the extreme dislocation between housing supply and demand in Canada and record-high federal immigration targets, said Michael Tsourounis, managing partner and head of real estate at Hazelview Investments, during the Canadian Investment Review’s 2023 Defined Benefit Investment Forum in December. He noted while Canada […]
While the funded position of a typical defined benefit pension plan increased on a solvency basis in November, it decreased on an accounting basis in that period, according to the latest pension index from Telus Health. It found the solvency of the average DB plan rose to 109.1 per cent in November, up from 108.2 […]
Despite pension funds navigating a “swim-at-your-own-risk” environment with a lower probability of positive returns, they can’t just stop and sink — they have to keep swimming, said Karin Sullivan, vice-president of fixed income at Trans-Canada Capital Inc., during the Canadian Investment Review‘s 2023 Investment Innovation Conference in November. “[These financial challenges] have been going on now for two […]
The evolution of cloud computing, artificial intelligence and data availability will disrupt and upend the entire asset management industry, said Neil Constable, head of quantitative research and investments at Fidelity Investments, during the Canadian Investment Review‘s 2023 Investment Innovation Conference in November. “Yesterday’s alpha is today’s beta [and] today’s alpha is tomorrow’s beta,” he said, noting asset […]
To find opportunity in times of volatility, institutional investors must consider their objectives and then expand their toolkit, said Saurabh Sud, a portfolio manager at T. Rowe Price, during the Canadian Investment Review‘s 2023 Investment Innovation Conference in November. It’s been a challenging environment for most fixed-rate assets with surging yields and higher volatility. As a […]