Pension Pulse

Rian Howlett , Karen Friar and Laura Bratton of Yahoo Finance report the Dow closes above 50,000 for the first time as stocks soar to cap volatile week:  US stocks rebounded on Friday from a weeklong tech bruising as Wall Street reassessed worries about the impact of AI disruption and the risks of hefty Big Tech spending. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ( ^DJI ) led the way higher, surging by about 2.5%, or more than 1,200 points, to climb ahead of the 50,000 level for the first time. The S&P 500 rose 2% in its best session since May of last year. The Nasdaq Composite added about 2.1%, as the indexes bounced back from Thursday's sharp closing losses and a week's worth of selling pressure. Wall Street is ending the week with a bounce back, as Big Tech CEOs and analysts brushed aside concerns about the impact of new AI tools on legacy tech. The Dow ended the week with a gain of 2.5%, but the benchmark S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closed the week in the red. ...

Matt Toledo of Chief Investment Officer reports  Norway’s sovereign wealth fund returned 15.1% in 2025: Norway’s sovereign wealth fund saw strong performance in equities and energy infrastructure in 2025. The Government Pension Fund Global, managed by Norges Bank Investment Management, reported a 15.1% return last year, with fund assets reaching 1.526 trillion kroner ($2.228 trillion). The fund’s return was 28 basis points lower than its benchmark index, according to an NBIM  statement  released Thursday.  “The fund delivered very strong results in 2025,” NBIM CEO Nicolai Tangen said in a statement. “Stocks in technology, financials and basic materials stood out, making a significant contribution to the overall return.”  The fund allocated 71.3% of its assets to publicly listed equites, 26.5% to fixed income and 1.7% to real...

James Bradshaw of the Globe and Mail reports  CEO’s payout, workplace relationship spur upheaval at Ontario pension plan: Senior executives at CAAT, a $23-billion Ontario pension plan, raised concerns about the approval of an unusually large payout to the plan’s chief executive officer, setting in motion a governance crisis that has resulted in abrupt departures and scrutiny from the provincial regulator, according to sources. Board chair Don Smith was recently suspended from his position on the board of trustees at the CAAT Pension Plan by the union that appointed him, three sources told The Globe and Mail. The Globe spoke with eight sources familiar with the matter to understand what caused recent upheaval in CAAT’s senior ranks. The Globe is not identifying the sources because they are not authorized to discuss the matter. CAAT is a multiemployer pension plan that serves Ontario’s colleges and more than 800 public- and private-sector employers. It has a total of abo...

IPE Real Assets reports  University Pension Plan Ontario buys stake in Schroders Capital’s Dutch industrial portfolio Schroders Capital and University Pension Plan Ontario (UPP) have formed a European logistics and industrial real estate investment partnership. As part of the new partnership targeting Northwestern Europe, the Canadian pension fund has acquired an interest in Schroders Capital’s portfolio of industrial logistics and warehousing assets in the Netherlands. Financial details were undisclosed. Peter Martin Larsen, senior MD and head of private markets, UPP, said: “We are delighted to establish this partnership with Schroders Capital. The partnership supports our strategy to build a resilient, income-generating real estate portfolio by partnering with leading real estate specialists focusing on markets with strong fundamentals. “By partnering with Schroders, we are strengthening our European real estate platform while positioning ours...