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2021 IIC coverage: Are pension plan sponsors rethinking real estate investments in work-from-home era?

The coronavirus pandemic will leave an indelible mark on the way businesses operate, said Gary Timlick, chair of the investment committee at the Winnipeg Civic Employees’ Benefits Program, during a panel session on the long-term impact of the pandemic on commercial real estate at the Canadian Investment Review’s 2021 Investment Innovation Conference. “There will be opportunities […]

  • December 21, 2021 December 17, 2021
  • 07:49

How the OPTrust is taking a sustainable approach to investment

Before Alison Loat joined the OPSEU Pension Trust as its first managing director of sustainable investing and innovation in 2019, her experience with sustainability investing had only been peripheral. “Although I did not come from the responsible investing world, I could see the tides were starting to turn. It was clear that a lot more […]

  • December 17, 2021 December 16, 2021
  • 08:54

Canadian DB plan solvency, balance sheets dipped in November: report

The average Canadian defined benefit pension plan saw its funding position deteriorate slightly on both a solvency and accounting basis in November, according to a new report by LifeWorks Inc. According to the report, the index covering the estimated average DB plan saw its solvency ratio dip, from 111.5 per cent to 110.8 per cent. […]

  • December 9, 2021 December 8, 2021
  • 09:00

Copenhagen students win global prize for designing collective DC pension plan

Four undergraduates from the Copenhagen Business School have claimed the top prize at the 2021 McGill International Portfolio Challenge by designing a collective defined contribution plan aimed at balancing the needs of older and younger plan members. Since 2017, the MPIC has challenged university students around the world to propose solutions to societal issues. This […]

  • December 2, 2021 December 2, 2021
  • 09:00

Tracking indirect GHG emissions vital for institutional investors, says expert

Institutional investors seeking to reduce their portfolios’ carbon footprint should pay more attention to scope 3 emissions, says Priti Shokeen, head of environmental, social and governance research and engagement at TD Asset Management Inc. “Typically, when investors engage issuers on climate change, the focus tends to be on industries traditionally understood as high emitting, for […]

  • November 26, 2021 December 3, 2021
  • 16:30

CBC Pension Plan stays the course with liability-driven investment model

The best ship captains don’t put too much faith in weather forecasts — or those who do tend to see their vessels flounder. Perhaps that’s why the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. has a skipper, Duncan Burrill, at the helm of its pension plan. Even when he’s away from his much-loved sailboat on the banks of the […]

  • November 19, 2021 November 19, 2021
  • 08:52

2021 GIC coverage: Cutting through the ESG greenwash

In his keynote address at the 2021 Global Investment Conference, Karthik Ramanna, professor of business and public policy at the University of Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government, described the practice of greenwashing in corporate environmental, social and governance reports as “rampant.” “I’m going to give you some fairly specific tactical tools to tell the signal […]

  • November 9, 2021 November 8, 2021
  • 08:00

2021 GIC coverage: A look at China’s expanding opportunity set for institutional investors

For all its dangers, there’s still considerable opportunity to be found in the Chinese investment space. At the 2021 Global Investment Conference, Anh Lu, portfolio manager for the Asia ex-Japan equity strategy at T. Rowe Price, said the trick to capitalizing on the opportunities in the world’s most populous country is to consider the long-term […]

  • November 9, 2021 November 8, 2021
  • 07:58

2021 GIC coverage: Finding hidden value in emerging market currencies

This year has been a difficult one for emerging market currencies, but there are signs that 2022 will give investors reason to be optimistic. “For the first time in 20 years, U.S. growth is outperforming EM growth,” said Fernando Grisales, senior emerging market portfolio manager at Schroders, during his presentation at the 2021 Global Investment […]

  • November 9, 2021 November 8, 2021
  • 07:56

2021 GIC coverage: Pension investment and the use of leverage — a tax perspective

Some four decades ago, parliamentarians voted to restrict pension funds’ ability to borrow money without losing their tax-exempt status, though their reasoning has been lost to time. “These rules have been around forever, but . . . their intended purpose [remains obscure],” said Matias Milet, a partner at Osler, Hoskin and Harcourt LLP, during a […]

  • November 9, 2021 November 9, 2021
  • 07:51