interest rates – Benefits Canada.com

2021 GIC coverage: How institutional investors’ losses in stock market crashes can fuel growth

bwolfe — Tue, 09 Nov 2021 11:54:33 +0000

As much as institutional investors fear stock market bubbles, they have an important role to play. The flooding of capital into new technologies and innovations leading up to a bubble’s bursting fuels innovation — an area that most corporations do not invest enough in, said Randall Morck, a finance professor at the University of Alberta, […]

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Quantitative easing windup, inflation likely to benefit pension plans: expert

Gideon Scanlon — Thu, 28 Oct 2021 17:45:45 +0000

The end of Canada’s quantitative easing strategy and higher than expected interest rates will be beneficial to Canadian defined benefit pension plans, according to Sebastien Betermier, an associate professor of finance at McGill University’s Desautels Faculty of Management. On Wednesday, Tiff Macklem, governor of the Bank of Canada, announced plans to end its quantitative easing policy and […]

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Expert panel: How could inflation impact DB pension plans?

mdunne — Tue, 26 Oct 2021 13:00:17 +0000

After being off of Canadians’ radar screens for years, the re-emergence of inflation in recent months is receiving significant attention for many, including pension plan professionals. Some believe the inflationary increases will be transitory because recent price increases are primarily due to short-term disruptions in the Canadian economy caused by the emergence from restrictions due […]

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Pensions in position to off load risks: expert

Gideon Scanlon — Tue, 07 Sep 2021 17:00:02 +0000

“Plans are, for the first time in a long time, in a position to off-load risk,” says Murray Wright, one of the contributors to LifeWorks Inc.’s monthly report on Canadian pensions. According to Wright, the principal of retirement and financial solutions at LifeWorks, pension chief financial officers are paying particular attention to one number found […]

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Value creation may be new cap rate compression in real estate investment

Jennifer Paterson — Thu, 27 May 2021 14:00:26 +0000

As the era of cap rate compression draws to a close, how can institutional investors maintain the outsized returns they’ve enjoyed for over a decade? Over the past 15 years, the growing popularity of real estate in institutional investment portfolios has increased against the backdrop of a sustained decline in yields, called cap rate compression. […]

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Institutional investors eyeing increasing interest rates, looming inflation: webinar

bwolfe — Thu, 15 Apr 2021 17:00:27 +0000

As interest rates return to pre-pandemic levels, fixed income is returning to its role as an equities hedge, according to a webinar on Wednesday hosted by AllianceBernstein Canada Inc. “As we see rates rise back to where they were at the end of 2019, there’s gas in the tank for fixed income to play that […]

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Canadian DB pension plans see improved funded positions in Q1: reports

bwolfe — Tue, 06 Apr 2021 13:00:50 +0000

Canada’s defined benefit pension plans’ funded positions continue to improve in 2021, ending the first quarter at their highest levels in more than 20 years, according to Mercer Canada’s pension health index. It found solvency ratios increased from 114 per cent at the end of 2020 to 124 per cent at the end of March 2021, with the median solvency ratio […]

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How should investors interpret the recent rise in interest rates?

alessandrob — Thu, 18 Mar 2021 05:00:42 +0000

United States 10-year bond yields have risen substantially from their lows of 0.50 per cent last summer, hitting 1.6 per cent by late February. Canadian 10-year yields have taken a similar trajectory to reach a range of 1.5 per cent in March, which is up from 0.43 per cent in August. At the short end […]

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Funding status down, alternative investments up among DB pension plans: survey

bwolfe — Fri, 05 Mar 2021 05:00:53 +0000

The funding status and confidence of Canadian defined benefit pension plans declined in 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic and a low interest-rate environment, according to a new survey from RBC Investor & Treasury Services. It found among 122 respondents, 50 per cent reported their plans were fully funded on a going-concern basis, down significantly from […]

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What can we expect from fixed-income returns in 2021?

mschmit — Thu, 28 Jan 2021 05:24:54 +0000

This time last year, the FTSE Canadian universe bond index was yielding a paltry 2.3 per cent and few, if any, anticipated how strong fixed-income returns would be in 2020. Over the year, the index returned 8.7 per cent due to a significant drop in interest rates in the first half as the Bank of […]

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