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 […]
As a fresh-faced elementary school student in 1977, Aaron Bennett wasn’t quite in the target demographic for the freshly launched Benefits Canada magazine. Still, Bennett — now the chief investment officer at Ontario’s University Pension Plan — has a pretty firm grasp on the concerns that would have occupied the minds of his predecessors as […]
In 2022, normal was supposed to make a comeback — it didn’t. Just as supply chains began to stabilize, war broke out in Europe, China invaded Taiwan’s waters, inflation skyrocketed and central banks began hiking interest rates. While investments in renewable energy infrastructure reached new highs, economies that had been moving away from fossil fuels […]
Alongside a potential recession and lower global economic growth looming in 2023, defined benefit pension plan sponsors have several tools to minimize the impact of rising inflation, said Eric Menzer, senior portfolio manager and global head of outsourced chief investment officer and fiduciary solutions and multi-asset solutions at Manulife Investment Management, during a session at […]
While publicly traded real estate investment trusts have been impacted by rising interest rates, the extent of the impact varies from market to market, said Corrado Russo, managing partner and head of global securities at Hazelview Investments, during a session at the Canadian Investment Review‘s 2022 Risk Management Conference. “It’s not shocking to see those [markets] that […]
An article on virtual health-care findings in the 2022 Benefits Canada Healthcare Survey was the most-read story on BenefitsCanada.com over the last week. Here are the five most popular news stories of the week: 1. 88% of benefits plan sponsors satisfied with virtual health-care offerings: BCHS 2. OTG Management using earned-wage access cards to help employees contend with […]
A development backed by the OPSEU Pension Trust is the beneficiary of the largest federal loan to a First Nations economic partnership in Canadian history. The Sen̓áḵw development project, in which the OPTrust has a 20 per cent stake, aims to construct 6,000 homes in Vancouver’s Kitsilano neighbourhood. It has received a $1.4 billion federal […]
While global institutional investors expect losses to continue in the fixed income market and are concerned that central banks may be too optimistic on the peak of inflation, they’re also finding good news in alternative investments and the importance of environmental, social and governance factors, according to a new report by Aeon Investments. The report, […]
The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec generated an average return of negative 7.9 per cent for the first half of 2022. The investment organization reached the mid-year point with $392 billion in net assets, down from $420.2 billion at the end of the previous quarter. This $28.2 billion decrease consisted of a net […]
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board is reporting net assets of $523 billion for the first quarter of fiscal 2023, down from $539 billion at the end of the previous quarter. The $16 billion decrease consisted of a net loss of $23 billion and $7 billion in net transfers from the Canada Pension Plan, according […]