At the end of a busy summer marked by unprecedented pressures from equity volatility and inflation, defined benefit plan sponsors, money managers and other investment professionals gathered at the Fairmont Tremblant in Mont-Tremblant, Que. for the relaunch of the Canadian Investment Review’s Alternative Investment Conference. From Aug. 20-22, the packed agenda presented a range of […]
In times of heightened volatility, equity mutual funds rely on active management to maintain sufficient liquidity, according to new research from a member of York University’s Schulich School of Business. In the paper, Aleksandra Rzeźnik, assistant professor of finance at Schulich, argues investor redemptions of these funds can cause the investment vehicle to rebalance its […]
In a world of persistent inflation and evolving fiduciary responsibilities, foundations must rethink how they balance liquidity needs, risk management and long-term value creation, said Pascal Bernier (pictured left), portfolio manager of strategic asset allocation at Desjardins Global Asset Management, during the Canadian Investment Review’s 2025 Endowment & Foundation Investment Forum. Comparing two foundations with […]
Last year, the Ontario Municipal Employees’ Retirement System embarked on a journey to redefine its risk management strategy, with the process pushing the organization to separate its views on risk into three categories. After becoming the OMERS’ chief risk officer in June 2023, Deb Barnes asked the organization’s board for a mandate to refresh the […]
Public equities account for, on average, 42 per cent of asset owners’ portfolios, according to a new report by Northern Trust Corp. The report, based on a survey of 180 global asset owners with investment portfolios ranging between US$1 billion and US$500 billion, found stocks were followed by fixed income (27 per cent) and private […]
Canadian institutional investors are prioritizing efficient access to liquidity and high-quality brokerage services in the domestic equity market, according to a new report from Crisil Coalition Greenwich. It found the average estimated total Canadian cash equity spend grew five per cent up from $450 million in 2023 to $475 million in 2024, noting Canadian trading […]
In the years following the 2008/09 financial crisis, Dan Langlois realized the allocation strategy for the Calgary Foundation’s endowment portfolio needed a significant adjustment if it planned to meet its annual funding goals. “I knew we needed to do something in terms of increasing the return in the portfolio to preserve the corpus or the […]
The risk associated with high-profile name concentration in technology equities is pushing institutional investors to consider risk-mitigating strategies, according to Nick Zylkowski, managing director and co-head of customized portfolio solutions at Russell Investments Ltd., speaking during a session at the Canadian Investment Review’s 2024 Risk Management Conference. He noted investors are reviewing their exposure to […]
An acceleration of significant weather events are impacting the risk premium earned from insurance-linked securities, providing a significant inflation hedge for institutional investors, says Bernard Van der Stichele, senior portfolio manager of insurance-linked securities at the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan. “ILS investments earn a risk premium that is directly proportional to the level of risk […]
Liquidity status is helping some of Canada’s biggest pension funds meet the challenges of a volatile investment market thanks to exceptional liquidity status, according to a new report by Fitch Ratings Inc. The report, which compared the credit ratings and portfolios of seven of the largest Canadian pension funds with approximately $2.1 trillion in net […]