Pension Pulse

Jared Blikre of Yahoo Finance reports the stock market just had its best month since the pandemic rebound: Stocks knocked it out of the park in April. Wall Street’s April rebound ended the month with a scoreboard that looks more like 2020 than 2026 — and some of the details look even more like the dot-com era. The S&P 500 ( ^GSPC ) surged over 10% during the month, its best showing since November 2020, while the Nasdaq Composite ( ^IXIC ) jumped more than 15% for its best month since April 2020. The Nasdaq 100 ( ^NDX ) gained nearly 16%, its best month since October 2002. That was not the setup investors had in mind a month ago, with stocks still shaking off the shock of a major war and the bull market suddenly on defense. The rally was broad enough to pull smaller stocks along too. The Russell 2000 ( ^RUT ) climbed more than 12%, also its best month since November 2020. But the S&P 500 equal-weight index rose less than 6%, barely more than half the gain in the...

A month ago, Alex Ortolani of Wealth Management reported that $37 billion Allworth was exploring a majority stake sale: Allworth Financial, the Folsom, Calif.-based registered investment advisor with about $36.5 billion in client assets, is in market with its majority owners, Lightyear Capital and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board, for a potential sale, according to two sources familiar with the move.  Allworth is working with banking firm William Blair to lead the sale process, according to the sources. Lightyear Capital and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan bought a majority stake in Allworth from Parthenon Capital in 2020, which had invested in the firm in 2017.  Allworth declined to comment on the move. Lightyear Capital, Ontario Teachers and William Blair did not respond to a request for comment. Since that initial stake in 2017, Allworth has completed over 40 acquisitions and grown to about 40 offices throughout the United States . It has also boosted clie...

The Canadian Press reports  La Caisse and Archimed Diagnostics buy French company Stago: Quebec investment manager La Caisse and health-care private equity firm Archimed Diagnostics have bought Stago, a French company specialized in the analysis of blood coagulation issues. Financial terms of the agreement with the founding Viret family were not immediately available. Stago sells its products in 115 countries and last year had revenue of about $880 million. Martin Longchamps, head of private equity and private credit at La Caisse, said Stago is a recognized leader in blood coagulation analysis. Stago, founded in 1945, develops and manufactures hemostasis equipment and reagents. Stago's leadership team is taking a minority stake as part of the deal.  Stago issued a press release stating it is accelerating its growth with ARCHIMED and La Caisse: For nearly eighty years, Stago has been developing solutions grounded in rigorous scientific standards, driven by a const...

Amit Chowdry of Pulse 2.0 reports  Stonepeak And Bernhard Capital Partners acquire Cleco to strengthen Louisiana energy infrastructure: Stonepeak and Bernhard Capital Partners announced an agreement to acquire Cleco Group from a consortium including Macquarie Asset Management, British Columbia Investment Management Corporation, and Manulife Investment Management, marking a significant transition in ownership of the Louisiana-based utility. Headquartered in Pineville, Louisiana, Cleco serves approximately 298,000 residential, commercial, and industrial customers across 24 parishes and employs around 1,200 people. Following the transaction, the company will remain locally managed and operated, retain its workforce and benefits structure, and continue to be regulated by the Louisiana Public Service Commission. The acquisition is expected to bring additional capital and operational expertise to support Cleco’s ongoing efforts to enhance grid reliability, expand infrastruct...

Stephanie Ha of CTV News reports  PM Carney announces Canada’s first national sovereign wealth fund:  Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced Canada’s first national sovereign wealth fund, calling it the “Canada Strong Fund,” ahead of Tuesday’s spring economic update. Carney officially made the announcement in Ottawa on Monday morning, saying it will allow Canadians who have “a bit of extra money” to invest into it directly, similar to a government bond. The federal government will initially contribute $25 billion into the fund, which Carney says “will grow through asset recycling and reinvestment, creating even greater opportunities for future generations.” A sovereign wealth fund is a state-owned investment fund that uses government surplus reserves to invest in financial assets like stocks and bonds but is independently managed. Alberta has its own sovereign wealth fund, called the Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund, that was established back in 1976. Accordi...