While public equities appear to be holding steady, at least for the moment, certain longer-term indicators could give institutional investors cause for concern. “Growth is not at risk and inflation is nowhere to be found. And those two factors are likely to push central banks to become complacent,” says Florian Ielpo, head of macroeconomic research at Unigestion […]
The outsourced chief investment officer market could be reaching its natural maturity, according to a new survey by Cerulli Associates Inc. Globally, OCIO assets under management nearly reached US$2 trillion at the end of 2018. While the U.S. experienced 7.8 per cent growth over the past year, the report noted growth may prove more modest in the coming […]
MSCI is making its ratings on environmental, social and governance issues publicly available off the back of growing interest from numerous stakeholders. This move is part of MSCI ESG Research’s mission to help investors, companies and other industry stakeholders identify the most financially relevant ESG risks and opportunities, through greater transparency and access to ESG […]
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan are increasing their positions in Mexican infrastructure firm Impulsora del Desarrollo y el Empleo en América Latina. IDEAL has 18 concessions throughout Mexico, including 13 toll roads, three logistics terminals and two wastewater treatment plants, as well as an electronic toll collection service business and an operations […]
About three-quarters (73 per cent) of global institutional investors ranked interest rates as a key portfolio risk, according to a new survey by Natixis Investment Managers. The survey, which polled 200 chief investment officers and investment team members at life, property and casualty and reinsurance companies in Asia, Europe and North America, found concerns about […]
Twelve of the 25 top global asset owners were pension funds as of year-end 2018, according a new report by Willis Towers Watson’s Thinking Ahead Institute. The report found, among the top 100 asset owners, pension funds held 59.1 per cent of the fund assets, down 1.7 per cent from 2017, primarily due to assets […]
Canada’s economy is famously reliant on its rich natural resources, with a heaping helping of financial service providers thrown in for good measure. But when oil companies, mining outfits or Canadian banks are deciding how to invest the capital in their pension funds, does it make sense to steer clear of exposures that directly correlate […]
Since the Teachers’ Retirement Allowance Fund, which is the defined benefit pension plan for public school teachers and other eligible employees in Manitoba, was introduced in 1925, it has made significant strides around asset mix and governance. In the early days, the fund’s asset mix consisted largely of federal, provincial and municipal bonds, but in […]
Canada has learned a lot from the U.K. Diversified growth funds, which began crossing the pond in 2008, are the latest import. But the funds still haven’t gained much traction over the last decade, though they do offer pension plans another option in their portfolio. A diversified growth fund is a fund that targets a […]
While the fact that past performance is not a guarantee of future results is a familiar refrain, it appears public pension funds’ return expectations do correlate with how they’ve performed in the past. A paper by Aleksandar Andonov, an associate professor of finance at the University of Amsterdam and Joshua Rauh, director of research and […]