Pension plans are very familiar with working with outside asset managers, but the Montreal-based Walter Group of companies wants to give them the opportunity to invest in the asset management business as well. “This opportunity is unique for institutional investors,” says Rene Fournier, president and chief investment officer of Walter Financial Inc. With its new fund, […]
There’s plenty of room to grow in Canadian farmland, according to Kevin Fahey, director of investments at the Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology pension plan. The United States and emerging markets offer opportunities as well, but farmland in Canada is cheaper than it is south of the border at the moment, he notes. As for emerging markets, while […]
Applying environmental, social and governance filters when investing in emerging markets isn’t easy given challenges such as a lack of company transparency, varying governance structures and the availability of clear and comparable data. But that doesn’t stop Sébastien Thevoux-Chabuel, an analyst and portfolio manager at Paris-based Comgest and a speaker at the 2018 Responsible Investment Association […]
The Public Sector Pension Investment Board is among investors taking part in a $250-million round of financing for Tradeshift, a global supply chain digital payments company. With the new round of financing, co-led by Goldman Sachs and totalling $400 million, the company is aiming to help buyers and suppliers digitize their trade transactions. “Given the rapid increase in […]
Schroders Investment Management Ltd. is appointing Shawn Cohen as institutional director, a role aimed at building relationships with defined contribution record keepers and third-party asset managers in Canada. Reporting to Ross Servick, Schroders’ head of Canada, Cohen joins the firm from MFS Investment Management Ltd., where he was most recently director of relationship management. Prior […]
Institutional investors are keeping an eye on the political instability in Italy as premier-designate Carlo Cottarelli prepares to present his ministerial picks and the market opened down 1.8 per cent on Tuesday. Last week, Italy’s president Sergio Mattarella invited the anti-establishment Five Star Movement and the League, formerly known as the Northern League, to form a coalition […]
The Canada Infrastructure Bank has found its inaugural chief executive officer in Pierre Lavallée, a former senior executive at the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. “With an exceptional combination of investment and public-sector expertise, Pierre is well placed to set the strategic course and direction of Canada Infrastructure Bank and develop a high-performing management team,” […]
A large majority (91 per cent) of institutional asset owners either have some allocation to a smart beta strategy, have evaluated the concept or are planning to evaluate it in the coming 18 months, according to FTSE International Ltd.’s latest survey on the area. “With five years of results for our global smart beta survey, we are […]
With annuities largely comprised of fixed-income investments, can the sponsors of pension plans gain an advantage by replicating such a portfolio on their own with a focus on private debt? During a presentation for plan sponsors in Toronto on Thursday, Michael Augustine, a managing director at TD Asset Management Inc., touted the option of reducing […]
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board posted a net annual return of 11.6 per cent as the end of its fiscal year on March 31, 2018. Adding $39.4 billion to its overall holdings, the fund now boasts $356.1 billion in assets under management. The increase included a $36.7-billion return after all expenses and $2.7 billion in […]