Bell Canada’s defined benefit and defined contribution pension plans are both overseen by the same pension committee. The meeting cadences differ, but the committee leans on its DB knowledge to make sure it’s addressing similar risks in the DC plan, says Robert Marchessault, the organization’s director of pensions and benefits. For the DB plan, which […]
Return-to-office mandates could accelerate market momentum for real estate investments in 2026, says Michael Tsourounis, managing partner and chief investment officer at Hazelview Investments. “You’re starting to see huge velocity in the leasing sector in office. You’re starting to see a lot of space getting absorbed [and] vacancy rates [are] now starting to come down […]
While voluntary carbon markets are a bit like the Wild West, carbon removals actually pull carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and sequester it, according to Aaron White, executive director and head of sustainable investing at CIBC Global Asset Management. “This is where we anticipate the biggest growth to take place within this industry,” he said during […]
Nearly half (45 per cent) of U.S. capital accumulation plan members say they’d invest in private equity and private debt investments if their plan provided access to these assets, up from 36 per cent in 2024, according to a new survey by Schroders. The survey, which polled more than 1,500 plan members, found among employees […]
Amid a push to open U.S. capital accumulation plans to direct investments in private assets, it’s important for plan sponsors and members to take a cautious approach, says Andrew Kitchen, head of Canadian distribution for MFS Investment Management Canada Ltd. This month, the U.S. federal government introduced legislation that would permit CAP members to directly […]
U.S. public pension plan sponsors have significantly diversified their portfolios since 2001, allocating, on average, 20 per cent of assets from public equities and fixed income to private equity, real estate, hedge funds and other alternative investments, according to a new report by Aon and the National Institute on Retirement Security. It found this shift […]
The increasing size of alternative investments may be driving down their benefit for institutional investors, says Stephen Johnston, director at Omnigence Asset Management. “There are trillions of dollars in those strategies. How can they generate alpha now? Because when you get to that size you start to replicate market returns.” Read: 66% of institutional investors […]
Against a backdrop of unpredictability on the global stage, Canadian institutional investors continue to face several competing headwinds, including a push from the federal government to encourage more investment domestically, central banks’ developing policies to tame inflation and a new U.S. president already making his imprint on foreign affairs. At the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise […]
While private debt continues to draw strong interest from institutional investors, the market is surrounded by conflicting narratives — some believe it’s a great opportunity and others warn of overheating. Speaking at the Canadian Investment Review’s 2025 Global Investment Conference, Tarik Serri, senior director of hedge funds and alternative investments at Trans-Canada Capital Inc., shared […]
The emergence of private assets in pension funds’ portfolios is opening new investment opportunities, said Duncan Burrill (pictured right), managing director and chief executive officer at the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. pension plan, during a panel session at the Canadian Investment Review’s 2025 Global Investment Conference. “We have more opportunities in private markets. There are new […]