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 […]
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 […]
Fixed income investing isn’t known for its excitement, but in the volatile markets of the post-coronavirus pandemic period, bond specialists may be in for a wild ride. “There’s more yield in the marketplace, so bonds are becoming a better competitor to stocks. . . . You should be asking yourself, how do I get more […]
The Ontario Municipal Employees’ Retirement System is reporting a net investment return of negative 0.4 per cent — or a loss of $500 million — for the first half of 2022. During the period, the OMERS earned a net investment return of six per cent — or a gain of $6.7 billion — after reporting […]
While institutional investors are no strangers to established markets such as Europe and the U.S., the world’s emerging and frontier markets can provide diversification and opportunities for lucrative returns. Not surprisingly, events such as the coronavirus pandemic and a shifting geopolitical landscape are influencing these decisions in 2022 and beyond. In recent months, Russia’s invasion […]
The importance of risk management isn’t new for the majority of defined benefit pension plan sponsors and administrators. The impact of long-term interest rates, market volatility, changing demographics and increasing longevity, inflation concerns, geopolitical events and other large economic, environmental and social factors are all contributing to the need to manage the financial risks associated […]
With increased market volatility due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, central banks in the West looking to tighten monetary policies as the world begins emerging from the coronavirus pandemic and higher, more persistent inflation than anticipated, bond investors are in for a wild ride, said Samantha Klein, lead of institutional business for T. Rowe Price […]
While politics plays a role in most investment decisions, it tends to arise on a fairly localized basis, says Michael Craig, head of the asset allocation and derivatives teams at TD Asset Management Inc. In addition, its prominence as a factor usually rises and falls on a cycle, slipping easily off investors’ radar in times […]
The majority of institutional investors believe the Russian invasion of Ukraine will be the catalyst of a period of high inflation and low employment around the globe, according to new survey by London-based CoreData Research. The survey, which polled 200 global institutional investors, found about a fifth (18 per cent) of respondents believe the invasion […]