Pension Pulse

Angela Macdonald-Smith of the Australian Financial Review reports Canadian pension giant takes $1.1b punt on Australian renewables: Canadian pension fund La Caisse has fended off rivals to buy renewables developer Edify Energy for $1.1 billion, giving it exposure to Australia’s clean energy sector which is expected to grow rapidly to support the government’s ambitious climate targets. La Caisse, which has almost $C500 billion ($550 billion) of net assets, will commit about $C1 billion of equity to the deal, with about a third of the total going on the acquisition and the rest funding two advanced solar and battery projects . The takeover of Edify will give the Canadian firm a significant foothold in the Australian clean energy sector, where it has been seeking an entry for several years, including an unsuccessful bid for Tilt Renewables in 2021. “We don’t have renewables in Australia, which is something I was trying to fix because I think it’s a great market … we want to b...

Amalya Dubrovsky, Karen Friar and Laura Brattonof Yahoo Finance report Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq close at record highs for second day as tech, trade headlines lift markets: US stocks notched fresh highs on Friday amid a record-setting rally as the US and China advanced trade talks and the "Magnificent Seven" tech stocks continued to climb. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ( ^DJI ) rose 0.4% and the S&P 500 ( ^GSPC ) jumped nearly 0.5%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ( ^IXIC ) led gains, adding about 0.7%, as Apple ( AAPL ) stock rallied on optimism over its new iPhones hitting store shelves. All three major indexes hit all-time highs for a second session in a row, ending the week on an upbeat note as the dust settled on the Federal Reserve's return to interest rate cuts . The S&P 500 and Nasdaq cinched their third straight weekly gains, adding 1.2% and 2.2%, respectively. The Dow climbed 1%, marking its second consecutive weekly gain. Save for Nvidia ...

Barbara Shecter of the National Post reports  HOOPP CEO says nation-building projects a start but long way to go:  The CEO of one of Canada’s largest pension plans says new nation-building infrastructure projects announced by the federal government last week represent a “first step” to creating the kind of investment opportunities long sought by the country’s globe-trotting institutional investors. “Historically, we haven’t seen as much of those opportunities, particularly with the national level commitment, as we would have liked,” Annesley Wallace, chief executive of the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP), said Wednesday following a speech in Toronto. “And so the recent announcements around the major projects are very exciting.” She said infrastructure is a natural draw for pensions, but Canada’s nation-building projects will need to be designed with “commercial models” and the right mix of government involvement to drum up significant interest. “There i...

Today, BCI released its 2024-2025 Stewardship Report: Victoria, B.C. – September 17, 2025 – British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI) today released its  2024-2025 Stewardship Report , demonstrating continued leadership in driving ESG performance and portfolio outcomes through engagement , proxy voting , and policy dialogue .    “The past year was marked by significant geopolitical upheaval and economic uncertainty, with some suggesting that ESG is inconsistent with delivering financial returns,” says Jennifer Coulson , BCI’s Senior Managing Director and Global Head of ESG. “Our experience managing $295 billion in global assets tells a different story: effective stewardship drives sustainable value for our clients, and is fundamental to our approach.”     Last year, BCI engaged 176 portfolio companies to address material risks and opportunities, and achieved its objectives or built positive momentum with 34 per cent of those companies. Dur...

Last week, OTPP  announced the appointment of Dale Burgess as Executive Managing Director, Equities:  Toronto, Canada  - Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board (Ontario Teachers') today announces the appointment of Dale Burgess to the position of Executive Managing Director, Equities, effective immediately.  In this role, based in the Toronto office, Mr. Burgess oversees the Equities investment department globally.  He has served in this role on an interim basis since February 2025. Mr. Burgess joined Ontario Teachers' in 1996 and most recently served as Executive Managing Director, Infrastructure & Natural Resources (INR), responsible for overseeing infrastructure acquisitions and asset management globally. He was previously head of the INR team for Latin America where he oversaw portfolio companies as well as business development and origination in target countries across the LATAM region. Mr. Burgess will continue to oversee the global INR te...