Australian investment manager IFM Investors is opening a Toronto office at a time of substantial growth in institutional investor business, says Ken Luce, executive director of IFM Investors Canada. “We have had two significant infrastructure investments in Canada. . . . It also gives a place for our investment team to even more closely manage […]
After years of strong performance, the long-term outlook for equities is becoming more muted, says August Cruikshanks, an investment consultant in Eckler Ltd.’s pension and benefits consulting practice. Read: Sounding Board: Checking index concentration key for institutional investors as bubble talk persists At the start of 2025, Eckler’s 20-year expected return for Canadian equities was […]
In a year marked by unpredictability and an unexpected rift between Canada and the U.S., Sophie Leblanc wants to look forward in McGill University’s investment strategy and avoid pitfalls from short-term volatility. “I’m less concerned with short-term volatility,” says the university’s chief investment officer and treasurer. “There has been a lot of short-term volatility and […]
A study by the University Pension Plan of Ontario of the voting decisions of investment managers revealed a “certain level of misalignment” with asset owners, says Delaney Greig, the UPP’s director of investor stewardship. The investment organization evaluated its proxy voting alignment with external investment managers to compare if they meet the UPP’s stewardship goals, […]
Heightened volatility could make defined benefit pension plan sponsors pause before deciding how to approach the use of favourable financial positions resulting in surpluses. While Canadian DB plan sponsors have been in surplus on a going concern basis for a significant amount of time, many are now facing a surplus situation on a solvency basis, […]
After a year of steady performance, fixed income markets could kick off 2026 with concerns from a macroeconomic standpoint, says Steve Locke, chief investment officer of fixed income and multi-asset strategies at Mackenzie Investments. “We’re seeing some fiscal and GDP tailwinds that are going to start to form fairly early in the new year. In […]
The Canadian Securities Administrators admitted its decision to pause the development of a climate-related disclosure mandate for public issuers is intended to be temporary and wants to bring it back, said Grant Vingoe, chief executive officer at the Ontario Securities Commission. Last week, regulatory leaders across Canada met to find common ground against the current […]
The most sophisticated institutional investors are trained to avoid trends or frenzies surrounding a strategy, but human nature dictates that even some will experience a certain fear of missing out when it comes to unique investment opportunities. Naomi Denning, a principal in the investment consulting practice at Eckler Ltd. says a case of “FOMO” may […]
As private market assets become more widely adopted by institutional investors, they open up new, unexpected opportunities. Tom Keenleyside, associate director of investments at Western University, is ready to meet the moment. “We are in the process of scaling up; I think private market investments have become more mainstream among institutional investors. . . . […]
Canadian equities played a role in strengthening the resiliency of institutional investors’ portfolios amid a volatile 2025, says Garey Aitken, managing director and head of Canadian equities at Franklin Templeton’s ClearBridge Investments. Indeed, Canadian equities provided a welcome surprised with overperformance, a consistent reason for positive results in pension index reports throughout the year. “Not […]