Pension Pulse

Professor Cynthia Williams, chair of business law at Osgoode Hall Law School and co-principal investigator of the Canada Climate Law Initiative, wrote a comment for Corporate Knights arguing CPP Investments should be supporting the government’s low-carbon transition policies: The Canada Pension Plan (CPP) is one of the world’s largest public pension funds, with $434.4 billion in assets under management as of June. The mandate of the investment board that runs it (CPPIB) has been to manage funds in the best interests of Canadian CPP contributors and beneficiaries (Canada’s retirees) and to maximize investment returns – all without undue risk of loss. As CPP Investments CEO and president Mark Machin recently observed , “Our investment mandate and professional governance insulate our decision-making from short-term distortions and gives us license to help shape the long-term future.” However, our Canada Climate Law Initiative analysis of CPPIB’s disclosures calls into question ...

HOOPP just published its latest research showing that amid the financial hit of COVID-19, three out of four Canadians would choose greater retirement security over more money now: As Canadians feel the financial impact of COVID-19, their desire for pensions – and their willingness to pay for them – remains strong, according to new research from the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP) and Abacus Data. In May and June of 2020, HOOPP commissioned Abacus Data to conduct a public opinion survey of 3,500 Canadians gauging their views on retirement preparedness, workplace pensions and the implications of decreasing pension coverage. A comparable survey in 2019 found Canadians are thinking of the future, want to be prepared for it, and know a pension is the solution. “This year's findings reaffirm Canadians’ personal and societal concerns around retirement security,” said Steven McCormick, SVP, Plan Operations, HOOPP. “Immediate public health and financial consideration...

Peter Lindley, President and CEO of OPTrust, recently shared his insights on retirement security and why defined benefit pension plans are the best at providing it: Every day, 1,000 people retire in Canada. As that number continues to grow, ensuring that Canadians can retire with security and stable incomes has never been more important. And that is the chief concern of Canada’s defined benefit pension plans. We are in the retirement security business, and we are best at providing it. Those who can’t benefit from these pensions must trust the lion’s share of their retirement income to financial advisors. In recent weeks, there have been a number of opinion pieces published by financial advisors, all with a very specific perspective: they want to manage your money. Their business is related to ours – and yet, the differences are stark. Financial advisors must make profits for themselves and their employers while helping individuals maximize their savings. Defined benefit pe...

Fred Imbert and Jesse Pound of CNBC report the Dow rallies more than 300 points on Friday as tech shares bounce, cutting losses for the week U.S. stocks rose on Friday, recovering some of their losses for the week, as tech shares clawed back some of their big September declines.  The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 358.52 points higher, or 1.3%, at 27,173.96. The S&P 500 climbed 1.6% to 3,298.46. The Nasdaq Composite popped 2.6% to 10,913.56. It was the best day for the major averages since Sept. 9. Shares of Amazon rose 2.5% and Facebook gained 2.1%. Apple advanced 3.8% and Microsoft climbed 2.3%. Netflix closed 2.1% higher. The S&P 500 tech sector jumped 2.4% and for its best day since Sept. 9, when it popped 3.4%. Cruise operators also contributed to Friday’s gains. Carnival, Norwegian Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean were up 9.7%, 13.7% and 7.7%, respectively, after an upgrade from a Barclays analyst .  The “sell-off has stabilized a bit over the l...