In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, institutional investors are increasingly factoring geopolitical risks into portfolio construction, according to John Bai, senior vice-president and chief investment officer at NEI Investments, during a 2023 economic outlook seminar hosted by the Canadian Pension and Benefits Institute on Wednesday. “All of a sudden, geopolitical risks went from […]
In the current market, institutional investors should consider increasing allocations to real estate and real estate investment trusts, said Joseph Shaw, managing partner and head of institutional sales at Hazelview Investments, during the Canadian Investment Review’s 2022 Defined Benefit Investment Forum. In the past decade, the average defined benefit pension plan’s allocation to real estate has risen, […]
While real estate has long been a part of defined benefit pension plans’ asset allocations, its inclusion in investment portfolios has steadily climbed in recent years. But defined contribution plan sponsors and members also stand to benefit from the asset class’ inflation-hedging properties, as well as its ability to boost income and improve portfolio diversification. Pension […]
For years prior to the Russia-Ukraine war, there were murmurs about deglobalization as geostrategic tensions grew, nationalism flared worldwide and the coronavirus pandemic stressed global supply chains, said Seth Weingram, senior vice-president and director of client advisory at Acadian Asset Management, during the Canadian Investment Review’s 2022 Risk Management Conference. Since the invasion, that discussion […]
With many defined benefit pension plan solvency ratios at all-time highs, plan sponsors have an excellent opportunity to rethink their approach to investing, according to Shivin Kwatra, head of liability-driven investing portfolio management at Insight Investments. “It is important to highlight two approaches to investing: one [is] traditional — a mean variance framework of maximizing […]
In the early days of 2020, no one could have foreseen the social and economic havoc the coronavirus pandemic would wreak on the world. Nearly two years later, as markets and economies continue to recover, Canadian pension plan sponsors are looking to their money managers to help light the way to a brighter financial future. […]
Despite the low-yield environment, fixed income continues to play an important role for institutional investors looking to make their portfolios work harder in a risk-controlled fashion, said Jeffrey Moore, a portfolio manager at Fidelity Investments Inc., during a session at the Canadian Investment Review’s 2021 Global Investment Conference. “For the bond market to hurt, there needs […]
As places of economic activity, flood plains have their advantages — just ask the ancient Mesopotamians or the staff of the Winnipeg-based Teachers’ Retirement Allowance Fund. “Those of you who have been to our offices will know we’re right at the intersection of the Red and Assiniboine rivers. We are right in the flood plain […]
At the end of 2020, a year of exceptionally volatile and unpredictable markets due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology pension plan was 119 per cent funded with $3.3 billion in funding reserves and its assets had grown to $15.8 billion from $13.5 billion on Jan. 1, 2020. “In the heart […]
With bond returns tied to interest rates, it’s no surprise Canadian pension funds are increasingly seeking other ways to boost fixed income yields. Canadian interest rates have been trending downward for the last 30 years, from a high of 10.3 per cent in 1990 to around 1.75 per cent in early 2020, according to the […]