Currency – Benefits Canada.com

2021 GIC coverage: Finding hidden value in emerging market currencies

Gideon Scanlon — Tue, 09 Nov 2021 11:56:48 +0000

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 […]

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2021 GIC coverage: A look at the Teachers’ Retirement Allowance Fund’s pandemic balancing act

Gideon Scanlon — Tue, 09 Nov 2021 11:50:30 +0000

As places of economic activity, flood plains have their advantages — just ask the ancient Mesopotamians or the staff of the Winnipeg-based Teachers’ Retirement Allowance Fund. “Those of you who have been to our offices will know we’re right at the intersection of the Red and Assiniboine rivers. We are right in the flood plain […]

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Back to basics on cryptocurrency

ANNA CAMPION — Tue, 16 Feb 2021 04:51:03 +0000

The term cryptocurrency may evoke a number of different images, from lightning-fast computers fuelling get-rich-quick schemes to shady rooms where hackers plot multi-million dollar digital heists. And while there may be some truth to those perceptions, cryptocurrency is a growing sector that many institutional investors are eyeing with increasing interest. Indeed, in mid-December 2020 Bitcoin’s […]

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Pension funds playing defence amid coronavirus crisis

mschmit — Wed, 02 Dec 2020 04:32:11 +0000

Despite several bumps in the decade since the 2008/09 financial crisis, the swift and brutal crash in global equity prices when the coronavirus was declared a pandemic sent pension investors reaching for their playbooks to implement defensive strategies to mitigate the damage. “People have worked very hard at just acting on the set strategies that […]

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Lagarde: Recovery could be stop and go despite vaccine news

mschmit — Thu, 12 Nov 2020 06:53:34 +0000

European Central Bank head Christine Lagarde warned Wednesday that the economy could face a “bumpy,” “stop-start” recovery despite good news about vaccine development. The top central banker for the 19 European Union countries that use the euro currency said there was a risk that fearful consumers could drag out the rebound, and that governments and […]

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Why Canadian pension funds should care about a slumping U.S. dollar

mschmit — Fri, 11 Sep 2020 05:00:03 +0000

The coronavirus pandemic has hit the U.S. dollar hard, disrupting a dynamic that Canadian pension funds have taken advantage of for years. Unhedged exposure to the U.S. dollar has been a boon for Canadian pensions as they’ve reaped the extra returns from the favourable conversion of asset income back into Canadian currency. But the outlook for the […]

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Plan Sponsor Week: Is it time for bond owners to shift how they view deficits and debt?

mschmit — Fri, 04 Sep 2020 04:36:00 +0000

While rising government deficits and debt are concerning for many bond owners, they should actually be more concerned that deficits aren’t big enough, said David Bezic, an independent economic consultant, during a session at Benefits Canada and the Canadian Investment Review’s 2020 Plan Sponsor Week in mid-August. Many of the concerns around debt and deficits are founded on […]

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Is it time for bond owners to shift how they view deficits and debt?

mschmit — Fri, 04 Sep 2020 03:40:20 +0000

While rising government deficits and debt are concerning for many bond owners, they should actually be more concerned that deficits aren’t big enough, said David Bezic, an independent economic consultant, during the Canadian Investment Review and Benefits Canada’s 2020 Plan Sponsor Week in mid-August. Many of the concerns around debt and deficits are founded on […]

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CPPIB sees 5.6% return for first fiscal quarter

mschmit — Fri, 14 Aug 2020 11:15:49 +0000

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board posted a 5.6 per cent net return for its first 2021 fiscal quarter, which ended June 30, 2020. The quarter saw the CPPIB’s net assets grow to $434.4 billion from the $409.6 billion it held at the end of its 2020 fiscal year, which ended March 31, 2020. The […]

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North American investors closer to falling in line with global counterparts on ESG: survey

mschmit — Thu, 06 Aug 2020 05:45:40 +0000

North American institutional investors are catching up to other global regions in their interest in sustainable investing, according to a new survey by FTSE Russell. Nearly half (42 per cent) of North American asset owners surveyed before the coronavirus pandemic said they’re interested in sustainable investing, up from just 17 per cent in 2019. This remains a […]

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