Pension Pulse

Today, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan announced an investment vehicle it owns is unassuming ownership of 870,000 acres of sustainable US  timberland: Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board (Ontario Teachers’) is pleased to announce it has completed a redemption transaction, whereby Tamarack Timberlands LLC, an investment vehicle owned by Ontario Teachers’, has assumed the direct ownership of approximately 870,000 acres of timberland. The unique, large-scale timberland portfolio of high-quality Loblolly pine is spread throughout the U.S. South and is third-party certified to the Sustainable Forestry Initiative standards, one of the leading sustainable forest management standards worldwide. The timberland portfolio provides significant diversification benefits to Ontario Teachers’, including diversity of locations, customers and tree age classes. Ontario Teachers’ has invested in these timberland assets indirectly since 2006 through a material ownership interest in a large...

Delphine Strauss of the Financial Times reports the rise in the UK state pension age drives record employment among 65-year-olds: The latest increase in the UK state pension age has led to record highs in employment among 65-year-olds, while also prompting those living in poorer areas to work for longer. Research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies, published on Tuesday, found that around 55,000 more 65-year-olds were in paid work in 2021 as a result of the gradual rise in the pension age, from 65 to 66 , between late 2018 and late 2020. The reform led to an additional 7 per cent of men and 9 per cent of women staying in work, taking the male employment rate at age 65 to 42 per cent — the highest since the 1970s. The female employment rate rose to a probable all-time peak of 31 per cent. Emily Andrews, deputy director for evidence at the Centre for Ageing Better, the charity that funded the research, said it showed the higher pension age had been “an effective policy for e...

Marissa Schlueter of OMERS Ventures posted a comment on spotting next generation healthcare opportunities: Here’s a radical understatement: The last couple years have been tough. But — at least for me personally — tough times also provide the opportunity for reflection and change. Going into 2022, I have a much better sense of who I am, what I value, how I learn and where I want to be. And that’s as a health tech investor at OMERS Ventures. I’ve long entertained venture capital as a potential career in the back of my mind. Now feels like the ideal moment. I’m hoping to take my experience with public equity research at Melius Research, as well as private company research at CB Insights to help trend spot and identify the next generation of opportunities in health-tech. Why VC? For years, friends and family have joked that I’m a professional student — and they’re not wrong. My previous roles have relied on my ability to consume large amounts of data, synthesize actionable ins...