Pension Pulse

The Canadian Press reports B.C. Investment Management earned 7.5% annual combined pension plan return: VICTORIA – British Columbia Investment Management Corp. says it earned an annual combined pension plan return of 7.5 per cent for its latest year. However, the result fell short of BCI’s benchmark which was boosted by the strength of the largest tech stocks and posted an annual return of 11.6 per cent. BCI chief executive Gordon Fyfe said the fund delivered “solid absolute results even through challenged markets this year.” The fund said all of its asset classes generated positive returns except its real estate equity investments which faced sustained market headwinds. The combined pension plan return represents the performance of BCI’s six largest pension clients by assets under management. BCI had $250.4 billion in gross assets under management as of March 31. Earlier today, BCI released its annual results, earning a 7.5% return and surpassing $250 billion in gross assets...

Mansi Verma of Mint reports Kogta Financial raises $148 million from Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan: Mumbai: Kogta Financial, a retail focused non-banking financial company, on 26 June, said it raised $148 million in a Series E investment led by Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan. In a statement, the company said that it will use the fresh funds as primary capital to grow its product offerings and expand regional presence. With this round, Kogta will also provide partial exits to its existing institutional investors Morgan Stanley and Creador. Founded in 1996 by Banwari Lal Kogta, Bal Mukund Kogta, and Radha Krishan Kogta, the company is currently steered by Arun Kogta, managing director and chief executive officer, Varun Kogta, executive director and chief finance officer, and Nayan Kogta, chief operating officer of the company. The NBFC functions in the secured vehicle and MSME financing space and has now expanded across 10 states in India with over 225 branches and more ...

Ari Altstedter and Layan Odeh of Bloomberg report on how real estate bets wrong roil $1.24 trillion Canadian funds: Almost no major Canadian pension manager has been spared. The largest fund, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, lost five per cent on its property portfolio in its last fiscal year as the commercial real estate slump deepened. For the Public Sector Pension Investment Board, the pain amounted to a staggering 16 per cent loss on those bets, the worst fiscal year performance for those investments since the global financial crisis. With the property market upended by higher borrowing costs, Canadian pensions — known for their massive real estate businesses that were the envy of the investing world for years — are feeling the sting. And it’s leading at least four major funds to now drastically retool their operations. “What’s worked famously well for the last 35 years may not work so well for the next five to 10,” Jo Taylor, chief executive officer of the $...

Steve Randall of Wealth Professional reports half of Canadian women have less than $5K in savings, HOOPP research reveals: When people talk about their retirement , it often focuses on freedom from work, spending time with friends and family, perhaps travelling the world on luxury cruises. But the retirement dream may never be realized for millions of Canadians who are woefully unprepared for their post-work years, according to new research from the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP) and Abacus Data which suggests a bleaker future could be ahead, especially for women. The HOOPP 2024 Canadian Retirement Survey found that 49% of women have less than $5,000 saved compared to 33% of men, while 22% of all respondents have no savings at all. The survey was conducted among adults over 18 during April 2024. More than one in three women aged 55-64 hav...