Pension Pulse

Matthew Black of the Edmonton Journal reports hundreds turn out to discuss state of CPP, possible Alberta pension plan: Hundreds turned out Wednesday night to hear Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) officials discuss the state of the national retirement plan while acknowledging Alberta’s ongoing discussion about leaving it. The public meeting was one the CPPIB is required to hold in each province at least once every two years and came on the heels of a similar event in Calgary on Tuesday night.  Wednesday’s event had to be moved to a bigger venue , at a downtown hotel, with organizers estimating the crowd to be around 400, with government MLA Jason Stephan and Opposition MLA Lorne Dach among those in attendance. In his opening statement, CPPIB Senior Managing Director Michel Leduc characterized the Canada Pension Pla

Benefits Canada reports Vestcor returns 7.5% for 2023, amid rising inflation, high interest rates: Vestcor Corp. is reporting a 7.5 per cent return for 2023, despite the challenges of rising inflation and high interest rates. The New Brunswick-based investment organization achieved five- and 10-year annualized returns of 6.27 per cent and 6.73 per cent, respectively. In a press release, Vestcor noted these returns ensure its clients continue meeting their funding objectives, even through the period of higher inflation indexing requirements of the past few years. “We are pleased that Vestcor continues to assist our clients with meeting their long-term objectives during an uncertain and variable period in both global financial markets and our operating environment” said John A. Sinclair, president and chief executive officer at Vector, in the release. “Our lower risk approach should continue to help our client’s meet their long-term objectives on behalf of their members.” The

Derek Decloet and Christine Dobby of Bloomberg report Canada taps ex-BOC governor to examine how pension funds invest: Canada’s finance minister has asked former central bank governor Stephen Poloz to examine ways to entice its pension funds to invest more in the country. Poloz will lead a “working group” that will look at what it will take to get Canadian pensions to put more of their capital into domestic opportunities — including housing development, venture capital and infrastructure such as airports, the government said in budget documents Tuesday. Large public pension managers including the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board have few restrictions on where they can invest. Over time, they’ve made a huge swing into foreign markets, seeking better returns and greater diversification. That shift has spurred debate within the country. Last month, more than 90 business leaders, including current and former CEOs, signed an open letter to Finance Minister Chrystia Fre

John Graham, President and CEO of CPP Investments wrote a comment on a national pension promise: We live in tumultuous times. Wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, a global pandemic, and rapid technological change have all challenged us in ways we couldn’t have imagined five years ago. It can be easy to forget, given the speed of these disruptions, that one of our greatest challenges has been building slowly for generations. “Demography is destiny” is a phrase often used to draw a foreboding link between population dynamics and a nation’s fate. In periods of uncertainty, demographics can also be a signal for what’s ahead and provide the visibility to prepare for the challenges we’ll face in the future. In Canada, one of our most powerful tools to collectively shape that future is our strong, stable, resilient pension fund, one built for the specific demographic hurdles we’ll face as a country. Indeed, patterns of aging suggest nations will

Hakyung Kim and Lisa Kailai Han of CNBC report Dow tumbles 475 points, S&P 500 suffers worst day since January as inflation woes erupt: Stocks sold off Friday as inflation and geopolitical worries once again dented investor sentiment on Wall Street. A broad decline in major bank shares also weighed on the market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 475.84 points, or 1.24%, closing at 37,983.24. The S&P 500 tumbled 1.46% at 5,123.41. The Nasdaq Composite pulled back by 1.62% at 16,175.09. At one point in the trading session, the Dow was down by nearly 582 points, or 1.51%. The S&P 500 slid as much as 1.75%. Week to date, the broad market index dropped 1.56%, and the 30-stock Dow fell 2.37%. Meanwhile, the tech-heavy Nasdaq is 0.45% lower for the week. JPMorgan Chase shares declined more than 6% after the banking giant posted its first-quarter results. The bank said net interest income, a key measure of what it makes through lending activities, could be a little sh