With concerns the business cycle is about to turn, more than half of institutional investors are reporting the intention to reduce their allocations to equities, according to a new BlackRock survey. Fifty-one per cent of BlackRock institutional clients surveyed stated they plan to decrease their allocations to public equity markets this year, up from 35 per cent in […]
Crude oil suffered a major sell-off in November, the steepest decline the commodity has seen in over a decade. As 2019 gets started, how should institutional investors handle their exposure to the commodity? Some pension plans may already be at capacity in terms of their asset mix for oil-exposed investments like corporate bonds and domestic […]
The majority of global pension plans believe the rise of passive investment funds is a foundational change in how they now manage their portfolios, recognizing that both active and passive allocations are necessary, according to a 2018 survey by British firm CREATE-Research. Faced with this trend, the financial services industry must demonstrate the benefits of […]
The drama in recent weeks surrounding the outcome of Brexit has proved Shakespearian, but on this side of the pond, should institutional investors be bracing themselves? “We’ve been thinking about this ever since the referendum and we keep updating our probabilities in different ways,” says Peter Westaway, chief European economist at the Vanguard Group. “I think we’ve boiled […]
The majority of global pension plans believe the rise of passive investment funds is a foundational change in how they now manage their portfolios, recognizing that both active and passive allocations are necessary, according to a 2018 survey by British firm CREATE-Research. Faced with this trend, the financial services industry must demonstrate the benefits of […]
An animal welfare charity is facing legal action from a former employee who says he was fired after raising concerns about the organization’s pension investments and its links to companies that engage in animal testing. Jordi Casamitjana alleges the League Against Cruel Sports, a British charity that campaigns against activities like dog fighting and hunting, […]
Household debt and high housing prices are complicating an otherwise fairly rosy picture of the Canadian economy, said Stephen Poloz, governor of the Bank of Canada, in a speech hosted by the CFA Society Toronto on Thursday. The bank’s most recent rate decision, which took place on Wednesday, maintained the current rate of 1.75 per cent. […]
Household debt and high housing prices are complicating an otherwise fairly rosy picture of the Canadian economy, said Stephen Poloz, governor of the Bank of Canada, in a speech hosted by the CFA Society Toronto on Thursday. The bank’s most recent rate decision, which took place on Wednesday, maintained the current rate of 1.75 per cent. […]
Emerging market equities are expected to show the heftiest returns in 2019, underpinned by a stronger economic background, said William Yun, executive vice-president at Franklin Templeton Multi-Asset Solutions, at an event in Toronto on Tuesday. While the asset class is still muted compared to returns 20 years ago, the investment firm is working with the forward-looking outlook that emerging market […]
Shifting demographics have always driven Canadian pension plan design, and the growth of the millennial generation as the largest portion of the workplace is no exception, according to Morneau Shepell Ltd.’s Joseph De Dominicis. “To me, shifting demographics are the key catalyst driving large global trends that in turn influence how we design pension programs, benefits […]