Ongoing demand from large technology companies and strong support from the U.S. government is solidifying the fundamentals of artificial intelligence investments for institutional investors, says Gurvir Grewal, a U.S. specialist from William Blair’s global equity team. “At the beginning of the year we had concerns around DeepSeek, we had political uncertainty with Trump and the […]
A new regime of higher bond yields is pushing defined benefit pension plan sponsors around the world to diversify asset holdings and increase liability-driven investment flows, according to a new report by FTSE Russell. Despite a nearly 10-year low for credit spreads, high absolute yields increased discount rates sharply for DB plans, particularly in the […]
The Ontario Municipal Employees’ Retirement System is reporting a net investment return of 2.2 per cent as at June 30, 2025, representing a gain of $3.1 billion. Net assets under management at the OMERS have increased to $140.7 billion, compared to $138.2 billion at the end of 2024. Over a 10-year period, the investment organization […]
The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec is reporting a mid-year 4.6 per cent investment return, up $23 billion pushing its net assets to $496 billion as at June 30, 2025. “Against significant rate increases, stock market concentration and challenges in real estate over the past five years, our portfolio held strong and outperformed […]
The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan is reporting a 2.1 per cent return halfway through 2025, with net assets increasing to $269.6 billion. In the first half of the year, the investment organization achieved net investment income of $6 billion, which pushed its net assets by $3.3 billion from its year-end figure. Read: Ontario Teachers’ returns […]
The median Canadian pension plan returned 0.6 per cent during the second quarter of 2025, resulting in a 1.8 per cent year-to-date return for the period ending June 30, according to a new report by Northern Trust. It found equities produced attractive returns while Canadian bonds were impacted by the rise in yields, causing a […]
In a fast-paced world with increasingly complex risks around every corner, pension and investment executives are looking for ways to safeguard their portfolios. The 2025 Risk Management Conference was a one-day forum designed for GTA-based DB plan sponsors to hear about insights and strategies to help them navigate these risks and deliver positive outcomes to […]
The funded status of a typical defined benefit pension plan increased considerably on both a solvency basis and an accounting basis in the month of June, according to a new report from Telus Health. The solvency index increased to 103.7 per cent compared to 101.1 per cent at the end of May, while the accounting […]
Amid economic volatility, Canadian target-benefit plan sponsors can ensure strong outcomes for members by balancing pension benefit stability and intergenerational equity, says George Ma, a retired actuary and author of a new report on target-benefit outcomes for the Canadian Institute of Actuaries. He notes three fundamental elements underpin a well-structured target-benefit plan: sound design, clearly […]
The average Canadian defined benefit pension plan posted a 1.6 per cent return during the second quarter of 2025, an increase from the 1.1 per cent return seen during the previous quarter, according to a new report by the Royal Bank of Canada Investor Services. The report attributed the quarterly returns to a strong enough […]