With the global economy recently experiencing some significant tailwinds, will that backdrop be enough to push emerging markets, especially Asian economies, to outperform? Signs of stabilization are peeking through, with central banks acting as the key heroes by providing stimulus, said Eric Lascelles, chief economist at RBC Global Asset Management Inc., in a webinar on […]
In an unusual move for an index provider, MSCI Inc. is urging the investment industry as a whole to incorporate environmental, social and governance issues into their investment processes. “Really we think there’s an urgency,” says Remy Briand, head of ESG at MSCI. “We think there are still too many investors that are not realizing that, […]
Oxford Properties Group, the real estate investment arm of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System, and the Alberta Investment Management Corp. are planning to develop the area around a Mississauga, Ont. shopping centre into a mixed-use neighbourhood. The development is set to transform the 130-acre area around the Square One Shopping Centre into 18,000 residential […]
The investment industry has been talking a lot about our position in the economic cycle and our proximity to a recession. In fact, I wrote about it last year with respect to interest rates and the economy. The current situation remains somewhat tenuous, with ever-present geopolitical tensions, rising populism (and hence protectionism), slowing global economic growth, monetary […]
SEI Investments Canada Co. is appointing Kendra Kaake as director of investment strategy for its institutional group in Canada. With more than 20 years of investment industry experience, Kaake joins SEI from Russell Investments Canada Ltd. where she was director for non-profit outsourced chief investment officer solutions and director of client strategy and research. Read: SEI […]
The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec is joining Placements CMI and Fonds de solidarité FTQ to take on equal ownership of multiple assets from private equity firm American Industrial Partners. The transaction will come to more than $840 million and includes all of Canam Group’s Canadian operations and some U.S. and overseas assets. The group specializes in […]
The OPSEU Pension Trust, alongside Bruc Iberia Energy Investment Partners and Green Investment Group, are acquiring two solar photovoltaic power plants that are currently under construction in Spain for about €65 million. The plants, which are set to be operational by the third quarter of 2020, will have a combined capacity of 100 megawatts and are located in Alvarado-La Risca in […]
When pension plans have access to a lot of forecasting information, it’s easy to be tempted into straying from an initial plan. Yet sticking to strategy is key, said Duncan Burrill, managing director and chief executive officer of the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. pension fund, speaking at a Canadian Pension and Benefits Institute event in Toronto […]
The current market environment continues to push institutional investors into alternative assets, seeking both yield and diversification, but not all options are created equal. Hedge funds, according to JP Morgan’s alternative asset outlook, will gain further traction as new technologies capture investor attention in 2020. “As tech spending continues across industries, our managers anticipate opportunities as […]
Institutional investors have been going back and forth about whether monetary policy will provide the tailwinds to markets it did last year or whether central banks are running out of steam. Monetary policy decisions by the U.S. Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank and other developed market players did plenty to bolster markets in early 2019, […]