In its newest guidance, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario is barring pension plan administrators from registering retroactive adverse amendments that could have a negative impact on plan members or beneficiaries, such as changes in contribution rates, subject to limited exceptions. “What we found coming out of the [coronavirus] pandemic, . . . there was […]
Greenhushing — the withholding of sustainability milestones and other environmental investment goals by institutional investors and investee companies — is a trend that could already be on the way out, says Mary Jane McQuillen, head of environmental, social and governance investing at ClearBridge Investments, a subsidiary of Franklin Templeton Investments. The effects of greenhushing are expected […]
Institutional investors are limiting portfolio diversification through overexposure to a selected group of U.S. technology stocks, says Alec Murray, senior vice-president and head of equity client portfolio managers at Amundi Asset Management. Since the beginning of 2023, he says, public equities have offered strong returns largely due to the performance of a concentrated group of technology […]
In the fight against cybercriminals, institutional investors and other financial organizations are managing cybersecurity just as seriously as any other type of business risk, with standards that can accommodate the integration of new practices and assessment tools. “We’re finding that, pension plans included, enterprises more broadly are taking [cybersecurity] more seriously and putting in place […]
The Independent Electricity System Operator’s pension plan is in the midst of a comeback from a period of heightened post-coronavirus pandemic volatility, with diversification as the key to its investment roadmap, says Jeannette Briggs, the organization’s director of corporate finance who served as chair of its pension management committee from 2021 to 2023. After conducting […]
Data centres are becoming an important asset for institutional investors seeking to diversify their real estate portfolios. The data centre asset class was valued at an estimated US$301.8 billion as of 2023, according to researcher P&S Intelligence, which also noted the value is expected to increase to US$622.4 billion by the end of 2030. Indeed, […]
As an institutional investor, Asif Haque knows the Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology Pension Plan has a responsibility to meet the rising challenge of climate change through responsible capital deployment. “[We] have a gigantic role to play in using our ownership and influence to engage with companies on their transition to a low-carbon future,” […]
Simply put, a glide path is a calculation designed to support an employee’s desired retirement timeline through investments in a target-date fund. When an employee first joins a defined contribution pension plan with a target-date fund, they’re exposed to capital appreciation assets that offer the most attractive risk-adjusted returns in the wealth accumulation phase, typically […]
The Investment Management Corp. of Ontario is reporting a net return of 5.6 per cent for 2023, with net assets increasing to $77.4 billion. The investment organization’s year-end report found public equities returned 18 per cent in 2023, followed by global credit (7.7 per cent), fixed income (5.9 per cent), private equity (5.7 per cent), […]
Significant headwinds in the commercial real estate sector have impacted the number of transactions seen in 2023, leading institutional investors to pursue diversification at home and abroad. The totals for acquisition dispositions of office assets in 2023 were “extremely low” compared to the previous year, says Lewis Gascoigne, an investment consulting principal at Eckler Ltd., […]