Pension Pulse

Earlier today, I spoke with Peter Lindley, President and CEO of OPTrust, and I discussed some restructuring taking place at the organization's leadership team: Audrey Forbes is promoted to Senior Vice President, Member Experience and will report to Peter, and will become a member of the executive team. Kelly Glass will join the OPTrust team and assume responsibility as Senior Vice President, People, Communications & Public Affairs. Kelly will report to Peter and will become a member of the executive team.  Rick Votano will continue as Vice President, Information Technology, Program Delivery and Business Support Services and will, on an interim basis, join the executive team and report directly to Peter.  Dani Goraichy is promoted to Chief Risk Officer and Senior Vice President Actuarial Services and Plan Policy (ASPP). Dani will report to Peter and will become a member of the executive team. Dani will continue to oversee the ASPP team and the Risk func...

Jesse Feith of the Montreal Gazette reports that SNC-Lavalin paid more than $118 million to a shell company: A forensic accountant who analyzed SNC-Lavalin’s financial statements says the firm transferred more than $118 million to Swiss bank accounts tied to a shell company established by a former executive. Of that money, Sophie Déry said on Monday, $14 million was transferred to former vice-president Sami Bebawi and another $11 million was sent to his uncle’s bank account. Riadh Ben Aissa, the former executive behind the shell company , received $35 million. “The amounts went in and out almost on the same day,” Déry told jurors. “It was an account used only as an extra layer when distributing money.” Déry was hired by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to investigate the firm’s dealings in Libya between 2001 and 2011. She testified Monday during Bebawi’s fraud and corruption trial at the Montreal courthouse. Déry told the jury she spent 1,500 hours looking through the ...

Frédéric Tomesco of the Montreal Gazette reports that the Caisse consolidates private investments after London-based exec steps down: The executive upheaval at the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec continues. Less than a week after chief executive officer Michael Sabia announced his imminent departure, the manager of the Quebec pension plan said Monday that Stéphane Etroy is stepping down as executive vice-president and head of international private equity “to spend more time with his young family.” Etroy is based in London. His departure will allow Canada’s second-largest public pension manager to consolidate all of its private equity activities in Quebec and abroad under one roof. Etroy will be replaced by Charles Émond, who already oversaw the Caisse’s investments in its home province and now inherits a global portfolio that was valued at about $43 billion as of December. More than three-quarters of the Caisse’s private equity holdings were outside Canada. “This c...

Rich Miller of Bloomberg News reports that according to the G-30, a severe $15.8 trillion pension crisis looms worldwide: The U.S., China and other leading economies confront a massive funding gap of $15.8 trillion in 2050 to ensure lifetime financial support for their aging populations. That’s according to a report spearheaded by former U.K. Financial Services Authority Chairman Adair Turner for the prestigious Group of 30, comprised of current and former policy makers. “If public policies and individual behaviors do not change, many countries’ pension systems will face a severe crisis, threatening either unaffordable public expenditure pressures or inadequate incomes for retirees,” Turner said in a statement. The projected $15.8 trillion shortfall is adjusted for inflation so the actual nominal dollar amount in 2050 will be materially larger, equivalent to 23% of global gross domestic product that year, according to the 75-page report. The G-30, which includes Bank of E...

Responsible Investor reports that CPPIB is launching a climate investment strategy: The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) plans to launch an investment strategy to cash in on opportunities arising from consumer trends triggered by climate change, it has revealed. The C$400bn (€274bn) public pension fund, which is accountable to Canada’s Parliament and federal ministers but governed independently, said in its annual sustainability report that it was “preparing to launch a new climate change investment strategy”. It didn’t provide any details on size, but Deborah Orida, Senior Managing Director & Global Head of Active Equities, confirmed to RI that the capital would come from “growth of our department” rather than reallocation from existing strategies. “The portfolio will be fundamentally driven and contain a diverse set of companies with tangible exposures to climate change,” the report explained, with Orida adding that themes would include disruptive sector...

The Canadian Press reports that Michael Sabia is leaving Caisse to head University of Toronto's Munk School: The chief executive of the Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec is stepping down from the pension fund manager to become head of the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto. The Quebec fund manager says Michael Sabia, 66, is leaving at the beginning of February, a little more than a year earlier than expected. "I know that I am leaving the Caisse and its people in a strong position to seize the many opportunities that lie ahead for them as I move on to my next challenge," Sabia said in a statement on Tuesday. Sabia, who was not available for interviews, noted that leading the unique Quebec institution has been "the greatest privilege" of his career. He has served as president and chief executive at the Caisse since March 2009. Before joining the investment fund, he was chief executive of BCE Inc. In F...