Pension plan investors in Canada can except a slow start to the year but a strong finish, according to the country’s economists. They put in their two cents at the annual economic outlook presented by the Economic Club of Canada on Friday morning. Here’s a look at the effects in Canada, the U.S. and around the world.
Bill Morneau called it the “perfect cure” for insomniacs. Fred Vettese noted that people who bought the book on Amazon.ca also bought Dark Night Rises.
North American institutional investors have been looking for yield in all the wrong places it seems. But that’s starting to change.
By the early ’80s, flexible benefits had really taken off in the U.S., but it was still a relatively unknown concept north of the 49th parallel. “With such a different environment in Canada, a lot of people thought Canadians really didn’t need choice in healthcare, because it’s not the same issue,” says Bob McKay, retired last year from Aon Hewitt (formerly Hewitt Associates).
Like many people who work in pensions, Elaine Noel-Bentley certainly didn’t expect to end up in the industry. “Nine-year-olds don’t say, ‘I’m going to be a pension guru when I grow up,’ ” she says.
Since the financial crisis of 2008, pension plans have struggled for additional returns. Unable to meet their liabilities with the typical equities and fixed income portfolio, a lot of plans have been moving into alternative investments, specifically, hedge funds.
As 2012 comes to a close, what’s the outlook for fixed income and equities as 2013 approaches?
It’s a tight race to the White House, if media reports are anything to believe. But who actually sits in the Oval Office come January 2013 may have varying outcomes for the U.S. economy, the fiscal cliff (the expiry of the Bush tax cuts) and the debt ceiling (currently at $16 trillion).
Ever wonder what DB pension plans south of the 49th parallel are doing to stay solvent? Dan Tremblay, a liability-driven investment strategist with Pyramis Global Advisors speaking yesterday at the Pyramis Global Advisors Fall Forum in Toronto, noted two ongoing trends that pension plans have adopted to stay above water in this turbulent economy.
In an informal poll of investors in attendance at a recent CIBC Mellon event in Toronto, 38% of respondents indicated they were invested in hedge funds and 38% said they were undecided. When asked if they were invested in or plan to be invested in alternatives, hedge funds drew the most interest.