The traditional move away from equities to fixed income over a target-date fund’s glide path is too simplistic to produce optimal outcomes for members, according to Neil Walton. Speaking at the 2018 Defined Contribution Investment Forum in Toronto in September, Walton, head of investment solutions in the portfolio solutions group at Schroders Investment Management, told […]
The basic advantages of passive investing are clear: it typically leads to lower fees, it reduces the chance of serious underperformance and investments are normally quite liquid, said Kurt Umbarger at the 2018 Defined Contribution Investment Forum in September. Of course, there are potential disadvantages, he acknowledged during his presentation at the event in Toronto. […]
Ensuring a glide path’s asset allocation is correct is really important since it’s going to be managing the bulk of positions for so many defined contribution plan members, according to Ruthann Pritchard, speaking at the 2018 Defined Contribution Investment Forum in Toronto in September. While the level of equity within the glide path at any given moment […]
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board says it isn’t yet interested in making direct investments in Canada’s newly legalized recreational marijuana industry. Michel Leduc, global head of public affairs and communications, says the sector is “not an area of focus” for the organization that invests Canada Pension Plan funds on behalf of about 20 million Canadian contributors and beneficiaries. […]
Imagine there was an option to assemble the ideal retirement savings plan: a pinch of automatic features, a teaspoon of benefits guarantee, a cup of pooled investments, stirring the best elements of a defined benefit pension into the structure of a defined contribution plan. It may not be as simple as combining ingredients, but as […]
The use of target-date funds is on the rise in Canada, with more members of capital accumulation plans being offered the investment option every year. Half of plan sponsors with defined contribution plans (50 per cent) and group registered retirement savings plans (51 per cent) allocated target-date funds as their default option in 2016, according […]
It was a bumpy ride for commodity prices between 2014 and 2016, a result of their close correlation to the state of the global economy. In particular, 2015 saw a major downward trend in many of the more frequently traded commodities, such as corn, gold, lead, silver, soy and wheat, with iron ore, natural gas […]
At 89 per cent, continental Europe has the most asset managers that are signatories of the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment, according to a new survey by Russell Investments. While the majority of managers surveyed are UNPRI signatories, participation varies significantly by region. Asia, excluding Japan, has no signatories, while 70 per cent of Japanese asset managers are signatories. […]
The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec is teaming up with Generation Investment Management to acquire General Atlantic’s and H.I.G. Capital’s investment in FNZ, a global fintech firm. With the investment, the firm is valued at approximately £1.65 billion. The firm itself holds £330 billion in assets under administration, servicing the needs of its partners, such […]
Will institutional investors be able to breathe a sigh of relief now that North America has come away from the negotiating table with a new trade deal? As the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement replaces the long negotiated North America Free Trade Agreement, political cohesion in North America has been restored, according to Dec Mullarkey, managing director in the investment strategy […]