Pension Pulse

Jack Tatar, Managing Partner at Doyle Capital Management and Editor for Forbes CryptoAsset & Blockchain Advisor , sent me a guest comment a month ago which I've been sitting on but have been meaning to publish: I’ve been writing about bitcoin as a new asset class and viable investment option since 2013 when I began a series of articles documenting my journey to find a bitcoin based investment for my retirement account (you can access the series of articles here ). As a former financial advisor and corporate executive with a major U.S. wirehouse, I recognize the value of asset allocation and prudent portfolio analysis. Recognizing bitcoin as an alternative asset for portfolio allocation is not a stretch for me. The lack of correlation with equities and bonds, along with a compelling risk/reward profile makes it an alternative asset class to consider for investors’ portfolio. This approach provided much of the foundation for my book, “ Cryptoassets: The Innovative Investor...

Shawn McCarthy of Corporate Knights magazine reports that Canada’s second-largest pension fund has made big changes to its investment portfolio and the result is new investments in coal or oil companies are very unlikely: As world leaders converge at this week’s climate summit in Madrid to debate how best to shift to a net zero-economy, Michael Sabia is leaving the helm of Canada’s second-largest pension plan having firmly placed Quebec’s retirement savings at the forefront of the global movement for low-carbon investing. Sabia, who recently announced he’s stepping down from the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) in early 2020, ushered in a fundamental change in how the $326 billion Quebec pension fund treats the climate-related risks and opportunities that are embedded in the 21st-century global economy. In doing so, CDPQ is challenging the traditional view of pension managers and other institutional investors. Despite the looming impacts of climate change, ...

James Jackson of the Waterloo Region Record reports that one of Canada's largest defined benefit pension plans has purchased hundreds of acres of land in the north end of Cambridge: In a deal announced Monday, iPort Properties (owned by the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan, or HOOPP), purchased 300 acres just west of the Loblaws distribution centre on Maple Grove Road. The property, currently farm fields and woodlots, stretches from Middle Block Road to Allendale Road. The parcel is the largest of three pieces of property assembled in the area over the last 12 years by Intermarket Properties, totalling 425 acres and five farms. Intermarket still owns the other two parcels and plans to develop them into employment lands. "We're not a big group and we're focused on small and mid-sized developments," Mark Kindrachuk, president of Intermarket Properties, said in explaining why it sold the largest parcel. "HOOPP is a big group, a big pension fund tha...

Megan Leonhardt of CNBC reports that according to one economist, the system is ‘flawed’ when most Americans have little or no retirement savings: It’s no secret that Americans are falling short when it comes to saving enough for retirement. But as a new report shows, many are disastrously unprepared — and that may point to flaws in the system. Progressive think tank the Economic Policy Institute found that Americans 56 to 61 had a median balance of $21,000 in their 401(k) accounts in 2016 , which is the most up-to-date data on file. That total reflects almost 30 years of savings. Younger generations do not fare much better. Older millennials (ages 32 to 37) have about $1,000 saved in their 401(k)s. The problem is that while 401(k) plans are meant to supplement Social Security, the benefits distributed by the government agency are modest. Currently, the average Social Security retirement benefit is about $1,470 a month, or about $17,640 a year , according to the Center...

Kevin Uebelein, the chief executive officer of the Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo), wrote an op-ed in the Edmonton Journal on why investment independence is essential to AIMCo's mandate: I feel that it is very important to personally address the questions and accusations that have been raised in the media — both the traditional and social varieties — around the roles and relationships that exist between the Alberta Investment Management Corporation, AIMCo, and the provincial government. Specifically, there has been a lot written and said recently about the Alberta government’s influence or control over AIMCo’s investing decisions. As AIMCo’s CEO, let me be absolutely clear on this issue: the Alberta government has no say whatsoever regarding where or how we invest. AIMCo’s operational and investment independence from government is such an important consideration of our business that it was explicitly written into our founding legislation, The Alberta Inv...