With the arrival of the new year, there are three topics that will be important for pension plan sponsors, members and other industry stakeholders in 2024. The economy and financial markets At the end of 2023, the Canadian economy and the financial markets were still feeling the after-effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Read: Expert panel: […]
Canadian institutional investors are optimistic about the prospects of emerging markets bonds, with more than half (52 per cent) saying they’re likely to increase their exposure over the next two years, according to a new survey by Vontobel Asset Management Inc. The survey, which polled more than 200 global institutional investors across Asia-Pacific, Europe and […]
The median Canadian defined benefit pension plan returned 2.8 per cent during the last quarter of 2022 after facing losses of 12.8 per cent over the course of the year, according to a new report by Northern Trust Canada. The report draws from the Northern Trust Canada universe, which tracks the performance of Canadian DB plans. […]
The world is entering an unpredictable period defined by increasing fiscal policy use, decreasing global trade and higher inflation and interest rates, according to a new research paper by the Investment Management Corp. of Ontario. “At IMCO, we believe that these global trends are leading us towards a new era of investing, one where it […]
“I’m starting to become a glass half full person. . . . I think that at least one of the two anchors of the 60/40 [balanced portfolio] is going to start working. I wish I could tell you which one,” said Jurrien Timmer, director of global macro at Fidelity Investments, during a session at the […]
Consensus expectations for U.S. inflation and interest rates in 2023 are overly optimistic, said Robert Forsyth, head of SPDR exchange-traded funds strategy and research at State Street Global Advisors SPDR, during a session at the Canadian Investment Review‘s 2022 Defined Benefit Investment Forum. “Our view is that the futures market is still pricing in an […]
While the vast majority (85 per cent) of institutional investors believe the economy is in a recession or will enter a recession next year, two-thirds (65 per cent) think stagflation is the bigger risk ahead, according to a survey by Natixis Investment Managers. The survey, which polled 500 institutional investors across the globe, found more than half […]
From an economic perspective, the last year has been quite tumultuous. As central banks began raising rates to tame inflation, the loose monetary environment with policy rates held at historic lows evolved to a rapidly tightening one. In October 2021, the overnight rate was 0.25 per cent and the 10-year Canadian bond yield was 1.6 […]
Canadian pension plan investments saw very modest gains in the third quarter of 2022 as both stock and bond markets responded favourably to the pace of interest rate hikes around the globe, according to a new report by Northern Trust Canada. The report, which tracks the performance of Canadian defined benefit plans, found the median […]
Efforts by central banks to reduce inflation could spark a global recession, according to a new report from the World Bank. “If the degree of global monetary policy tightening currently anticipated by markets is not enough to lower inflation to targets, experience from past global recessions suggests that the requisite additional tightening could give rise […]