The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, alongside Fengate Asset Management, is investing in eStruxture Data Centers. The Quebec-based data centre operator currently has five data centres, three in Montreal and two in Vancouver. The co-investment will allow the company to buy a new data centre from Shaw Communications Inc. in Calgary and help […]
The British Columbia Investment Management Corp. posted a combined net return of 6.1 per cent for its fiscal year, which ended March 31, 2019. Adding $2 billion in value, the organization increased its assets under management to $153.4 billion and beat its combined market benchmark, which returned 4.5 per cent. Private assets drove the outperformance, with income generation and […]
The Responsible Investment Association is creating a hub for investors looking for advice on responsible investing and related investment options and services. The RI Marketplace, which functions as an online directory of what’s available to Canada’s institutional and retail investors, highlights more than 150 responsible investment vehicles, including mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, pooled products, separately managed […]
Franklin Templeton Investments Corp. is appointing Alan Bartlett as chief investment officer of its global equity group. When he begins the new role in October, Bartlett will replace Norm Boersma, the group’s CIO since 2012, who’ll retire in the fall. Previously, Bartlett was a founding member and chief executive officer of Goodhart Partners. He was also CIO of the institutional multi-manager team […]
The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and Beaudier Inc. are among a group providing $500 million in private capital refinancing to Quebec-based McInnis Cement. Alongside a $200-million loan from the Caisse and Beaudier, a syndicate of 11 Canadian and international banks will be providing $300 million. The pension fund’s last investment in McInnis was $125 […]
With the legalization of recreational cannabis in Canada and a patchwork of regulations governing its use in various states in the U.S., the sector’s influence is growing, according to new research by MSCI Inc. In total, 50 countries now allow some form of medical cannabis use, while six countries have legalized it recreationally. In terms of public […]
When it comes to investing member contributions, the Co-operators Group Ltd.’s defined contribution pension doesn’t look like many other Canadian plans. For one, it doesn’t use a platform approach to investing. Instead, much of its more than $1 billion in assets under management are part of a pre-constructed balanced fund with different target-risk levels with […]
Whether operating in Canada or the United States, defined contribution plan sponsors are facing the same challenges around demographics, plan design and their employees’ retirement readiness. On the demographics front, more baby boomers are retiring and taking their pension balances with them. As DC plans lose members, plan sponsors may see a rise in costs […]
A thick fog is clouding institutional investors’ efforts to gain clarity on the global market outlook, but certain key themes are peeking through, according to Manulife Investment Management’s mid-year report. Geopolitical unrest continues to be a cause for concern, the report noted. The escalation of trade tensions between the U.S. and China could point to a […]
The outsourced chief investment officer market is growing with low barriers to entry contributing to the number of players of all sizes in the space, according to research by U.S.-based institutional investment consulting firm Callan. In evaluating the work of an OCIO, plan sponsors and other institutional investors should go well beyond simply looking at investment results, noted the research. “While […]