In a Financial Times piece on the UK鈥檚 interest in replicating Canada鈥檚 pension system, Associate Professor Sebastien Betermier highlights concerns about the growing politicization of Canada鈥檚 pension funds. He notes that the success of the Maple 8 model relies on maintaining independence from government interference. Recent political actions such as Alberta鈥檚 abrupt overhaul of its pension board raise doubts about whether the model can sustain its advantages.
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Published on: 29 Jan 2025
Canadian pension funds have a mandate to deliver steady pension payments to millions of plan members, writes Professor Sebastien Betermier in Benefits Canada. But that鈥檚 easier said than done, and the most cost-efficient way to deliver is by investing in a globally diversified portfolio tilted toward strategic assets. This type of asset, however, isn鈥檛 available in Canada, so pension funds look for them elsewhere.
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Published on: 18 Dec 2024
While 2020 was tough on just about everyone, the Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo) really took it on the chin. Alberta鈥檚 public pension fund manager lost billions of dollars in a volatility-based trading strategy during a topsy-turvy year in markets. The losses undermined public confidence in AIMCo, and the province鈥檚 Finance Minister Nate Horner recently dismissed AIMCo鈥檚 entire board, appointing a veteran public servant to serve as the organization鈥檚 interim CEO.
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Published on: 21 Nov 2024
Canada鈥檚 eight largest pension funds are big players in the world of institutional investing with more than $1 trillion under management collectively. Pressure is being applied for the funds to invest a greater proportion of their money in Canadian stocks. Yet, 18 per cent of their portfolio is already invested in domestic markets, explains Associate Professor Sebastien Betermier in an interview with Les Affaires.
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Published on: 15 Oct 2024
Historically, pension funds managed their portfolios using a strategic asset allocation approach. Fundamentally, this meant buying a mix of asset classes with the highest probability of achieving the necessary returns, at a level of risk that was acceptable 鈥� or buying and holding. But since the mid-2000s, some large pension funds have adopted a total portfolio approach strategy, which seeks to maximize returns while keeping a portfolio鈥檚 volatility low.
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Published on: 15 Oct 2024
In 2023, the Government of Australia suggested that some of the country鈥檚 pension assets might be used to fund social housing or renewable energy. The idea received mixed reception, and to understand why, Lachlan Maddock of Investor Strategy News looked to Canada, where a group of business leaders called for pension funds to increase their holdings of Canadian equities. Maddock quoted research published by 91黑料网 Desautels鈥� Associate Professor of Finance Sebastien Betermier.
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Published on: 27 Aug 2024
The Government of Canada is exploring ways to increase investments in the country鈥檚 pension fund equities, but doing so sacrifices returns, according to The Economist. Over the past decade, Canadian mid and small-cap stocks have returned just 3-4% each year, while U.S. stocks have seen a 13% return annually. Opening infrastructure to investment is another way to encourage pension funds to invest more of their capital domestically.
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Published on: 15 Jul 2024
Canada鈥檚 biggest pension funds are some of the world鈥檚 largest investors and their diversified portfolios span the globe. But, should they be investing more in Canadian companies? Some CEOs think so. In March, 90 CEOs signed an open letter to Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland urging her to find ways to get pension funds to invest more in Canadian companies. But forcing pension funds to do so would be a mistake, says CD Howe Institute Senior Fellow Miville Tremblay in an op-ed in LaPresse.
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Published on: 11 Jul 2024
Over the past few decades, Canada鈥檚 big pension funds have piled into direct real estate investments. But, as higher borrowing costs hit property markets, returns have gone negative. Some funds are considering whether they should take a step back and make this type of investment through third-party managers. 鈥淵ou have a few pension funds asking themselves, should I continue to go as direct?鈥� says Associate Professor of Finance听Sebastien Betermier听in an interview with BNN Bloomberg.
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Published on: 9 Jul 2024
Many pension funds are pledging to invest in green assets with net-zero emissions, but these investments tend to yield lower returns than the broader market index. Beyond that, a hard shift toward green investments could remove the incentive for heavy emitters to clear up their act. Investors need to rethink the assumption that sustainable investing means investing primarily in green assets, writes Professor Sebastien Betermier in Benefits Canada.
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Published on: 13 Jun 2024
The New York City Public Pension Fund has pushed Canada鈥檚 largest bank to deliver greater transparency about its investments in green energy and fossil fuels. The Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) will begin publishing the ratio between the two types of energy investments in its portfolio.
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Published on: 17 Apr 2024
In 2023, more than 120 exchange-traded funds (ETFs) were delisted in Canada鈥攎ore than four times as many as in an average year. Even so, there was still a net gain in the overall number of ETFs, with 164 new ones launching for the year. With numbers in for the first quarter of 2024, the high number of delistings appears to have been an anomaly.
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Published on: 17 Apr 2024
Dozens of business leaders recently signed an open letter to Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland arguing that pension funds should invest more in Canadian businesses. But their argument doesn鈥檛 line up with the facts, writes Prof. Sebastien Betermier in an op-ed in The Globe and Mail. Academic research has shown Canadian pension funds allocate a large portion of their portfolio to domestic assets.
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Published on: 22 Mar 2024
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91黑料网 hosted its annual Bravo Gala on Thursday, March 21, which honours its faculty members and researchers who have won special awards, memberships and prizes over the past year. 91黑料网 Desautels is proud to announce 14 of its faculty amongst the distinguished honourees this year. Congratulations to our deserving laureates! Full list below.
#Bravo2024
路 Genevi猫ve Bassellier, Best AMCIS Emergent Research Forum Paper, Americas Conference on Information Systems
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Published on: 21 Mar 2024
For people with defined contribution pension plans, longevity risk is a significant concern. You don鈥檛 want to outlive your money. The issue is compounded because today鈥檚 retirees have longer life expectancies than ever before, writes Sebastien Betermier in Benefits Canada. Most retirees decumulate their capital on their own, but because they鈥檙e afraid to outlast their savings, this leads to a pattern of living poor and dying rich. An advanced life deferred annuity (ALDA) can help address this problem.
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Published on: 14 Mar 2024
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