The Investment Management Corp. of Ontario is appointing Nick Chamie as chief strategist to lead the organization’s asset allocation, currency management and fixed income strategies within the total portfolio and capital markets group. With more than 25 years of experience in portfolio management, trading and research, Chamie was most recently a senior portfolio manager at […]
Mercer is appointing Monika Freyman as Canadian head of responsible investment and David Fanger in the same role for the U.S. In the roles, Freyman and Fanger will lead the delivery of sustainable investment advisory and solutions services to institutional investors. “David and Monika each bring decades of institutional knowledge and passion for social and environmental […]
The extent of fiscal and monetary intervention in the economy in response to the coronavirus crisis is likely to lead to deficits unlike anything seen before and result in asset prices faring better over the near term than the overall economy, said Bert Clark, president and chief executive officer of the Investment Management Corp. of Ontario, […]
To say things have changed since I wrote my last editorial is a massive understatement. Of course, the early rumblings of the coronavirus pandemic were already underway in the early weeks of 2020, but they were still very far removed from Canada’s reality. At the time of writing these words in mid-April, worldwide coronavirus cases […]
Last August, I wrote about whether central banks were creating a financial bubble with their coordinated easing programs intended to spur economic growth and/or lift inflation. In January 2020, I wrote about the end of the economic cycle, the potential for a recession and what that might mean for positioning an investment portfolio. Little did I […]
Recent reports of significant investment losses on the part of the Alberta Investment Management Corp. are overblown, according to chief executive officer Kevin Uebelein. In recent weeks, many Canadian publications have pointed to problems with a volatility strategy that performed poorly amid the massive spike in volatility that equity markets have experienced due to the coronavirus […]
Changes to Quebec’s pension legislation, including a move away from solvency funding requirements and the introduction of a cost-sharing model, against the backdrop of a low interest rate environment has had a major influence on the City of Montreal’s pension investment strategy. The City manages six plans under one pooled portfolio. The assets from all […]
The Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology pension plan saw a strong 2019, delivering a 16 per cent return, net of investment management fees, while growing its assets under management to $13.5 billion. “On an absolute basis, all asset classes contributed positively to returns in 2019, with global developed equity, long bonds and real assets […]
In this time of pandemic, a lot has been shared about the woes of defined benefit pension plans, but members of capital accumulation plans are also feeling the impact, even though few have even noticed. Fortunately, target-date funds and lifecycle portfolios have really helped. But the government and provincial regulators need to help as well. Once […]
Globally, many pension funds are divesting from carbon and fossil fuels, while others are staying the course and focusing on financial value and their fiduciary duties Simon Archer, partner at Goldblatt Partners LLP and co-director of Osgoode Hall Law School’s Centre for Comparative Research in Law and Political Economy: Political posturing aside, no one seriously […]