The Calgary Foundation’s transition from a heavy domestic public market asset mix to a diversified portfolio opened the doors to a larger investible universe and minimized volatility, said Jessica Mitchell, an investment associate at the organization, during a session at the Canadian Investment Review’s 2025 Endowment & Foundation Investment Forum. “The questions that we asked […]
Last year, the Ontario Municipal Employees’ Retirement System embarked on a journey to redefine its risk management strategy, with the process pushing the organization to separate its views on risk into three categories. After becoming the OMERS’ chief risk officer in June 2023, Deb Barnes asked the organization’s board for a mandate to refresh the […]
Defined contribution pension plan sponsors are navigating the demands of a strict asset allocation guideline in accordance with Islam by incorporating Sharia-compliant funds into their plans’ investment lineups. One reason is the increasingly diverse makeup of the Canadian workforce. According to Statistics Canada, the country’s Muslim population doubled between 2001 and 2021, from two per […]
The increasing size of alternative investments may be driving down their benefit for institutional investors, says Stephen Johnston, director at Omnigence Asset Management. “There are trillions of dollars in those strategies. How can they generate alpha now? Because when you get to that size you start to replicate market returns.” Read: 66% of institutional investors […]
An uneasy economic landscape between Canada and the U.S. is pushing the University Pension Plan to perform more stress testing for new and existing investments south of the border, says chief investment officer Aaron Bennett. “It also makes us think a lot more about global inflation and how should we be thinking about [it] in […]
The cost of doing business under the current U.S. administration is getting more expensive and uncertain, said Cliff Kupchan, chairman at Eurasia Group, during the keynote session at the Canadian Investment Review’s 2025 Global Investment Conference. Firms are operating under an increasingly uncertain investment climate in the U.S., he said, noting many of his organization’s […]
While the British Columbia Investment Management Corp. supports the goal of net zero by 2050, that doesn’t translate to a hard target for its portfolio, according to Jennifer Coulson (pictured left), the organization’s senior managing director and global head of environmental, social and governance. Speaking in a panel session at the Canadian Investment Review’s 2025 […]
A stigma around the use of leverage by a pension plan is magnified if the organization is facing funding issues, said Brandon Weening, executive vice-president of corporate and capital markets finance at the Ontario Municipal Employees’ Retirement System, during a session at the Canadian Investment Review’s Global Investment Conference. The skepticism around note offerings is […]
Increasing periods of heightened volatility are demanding composure and trust from investment professionals for their long-term roadmap, according to Josée Mondoux (pictured middle), chief investment officer at the Canadian Medical Protective Association, during a panel session at the Canadian Investment Review’s 2025 Global Investment Conference. Investment professionals are being tested and could be asked to […]
The emergence of private assets in pension funds’ portfolios is opening new investment opportunities, said Duncan Burrill (pictured right), managing director and chief executive officer at the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. pension plan, during a panel session at the Canadian Investment Review’s 2025 Global Investment Conference. “We have more opportunities in private markets. There are new […]