October 2022
26Oct

Canada. Most employer retirement plans don’t support decumulation

Defined-contribution pension plans and group RRSPs have become the dominant forms of employer retirement programs, but they’re proving inadequate once plan members reach the decumulation phase, a report from the C.D. Howe Institute says. Capital accumulation plans (CAPs) such as DC pensions and group RRSPs focus on accumulating assets rather than providing retirement income for life to plan members. That leaves many retirees unprepared for restructuring their assets into income after they retire, the report said. “We believe the time is right...

October 26, 2022
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25Oct

Canada pension fund to pour $470m into Japanese renewables company

Major Canadian pension fund CDPQ plans to invest 70 billion yen ($474 million) in Shizen Energy, a Japanese developer of renewable energy. Demand is increasing for environmentally conscious investing globally. If Japanese renewable energy companies can build a track record at home and abroad, they will be able to attract global decarbonization money. CDPQ will invest 20 billion yen by subscribing to Shizen Energy convertible bonds in October. In addition, 50 billion yen has been set aside for an investment framework...

October 25, 2022
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August 2022
19Aug

Canadian pension fund CDPQ explores legal options over failed crypto firm

Canada's second-largest pension fund Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) is exploring legal options over bankrupt crypto lending firm Celsius and will no longer invest in crypto firms, it said on Wednesday. CDPQ's statement came as the fund recovers from its failed investment in New Jersey-based Celsius, which filed for bankruptcy in July less than a year after it received an investment of $150 million from the fund. "We will preserve our rights and explore legal options," CDPQ Chief...

August 19, 2022
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12Aug

Canada. CPPIB returns -4.2% in quarter on equity market losses

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Toronto, returned a net -4.2% for the quarter ended June 30, the first quarter of its 2023 fiscal year, said a news release Thursday. CPPIB, which manages the assets of the Canada Pension Plan, said the pension fund's net assets totaled C$523 billion ($406.1 billion) as of June 30, down 3% from C$539 billion three months earlier. The C$16 billion quarterly decrease in net assets consisted of a net investment loss of C$23 billion and C$7...

August 12, 2022
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12Aug

Canada Pension Plan discloses billions in investments

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Toronto, reported a large number of investments and commitments it made in the first and second quarters of fiscal 2023, according to news release Thursday issued along with its results for its first fiscal quarter that ended June 30. CPP Investments, which manages the assets of the C$523 billion ($406.1 billion) Canada Pension Plan, said in the fiscal first quarter it closed a C$230 million investment in the term loans of Legal Search, a provider...

August 12, 2022
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09Aug

Canada. Employment rate at historic high but aging population remains mostly out of work

A new study has found that although the employment rate for Canadians between 15 and 64 years of age (working age) is at a historic high, the overall labor market has yet to fully recover from the pandemic-induced recession due to the continued aging of the country’s population. The study was conducted by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian public policy think-tank. The study compares labor statistics for the first five months of 2022 relative to the same period in...

August 9, 2022
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02Aug

Canada’s CPPIB turns attention to stocks in hunt for value

Canada's $421 billion state pension fund has shifted its attention toward public equities from private deals after a sell-off in the first half boosted valuations, according to its top executive. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board is one of the world's largest institutional investors in private equity, with more than $100 billion invested directly in private companies and through funds. But in recent months, "we've been active in the public equity space, even in places like infrastructure and real estate," CEO...

August 2, 2022
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July 2022
22Jul

Caisse admits $150-million investment in bankrupt Celsius ‘raises a number of questions’

Quebec’s pension manager broke its silence about its investment in Celsius Network LLC, saying it will “take time” to resolve claims around the bankrupt cryptocurrency lender but admitted the investment didn’t pan out. Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec invested $150 million in Celsius in October as part of a $400 million funding round co-led by WestCap Investment Partners LLC. Equity holders are likely to be wiped out after Celsius filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in a U.S. court,...

July 22, 2022
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21Jul

Canada. Pensions need to up their climate-risk management game

As the United Kingdom sweats under record-high temperatures, pension fund managers on this side of the pond are being warned about their net-zero targets. Pension fund administrators should continue to adopt net-zero emissions targets for 2050, and have their targets vetted through third-party certification standards — such as the Science-Based Target initiative or Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net-Zero — according to Building Climate Resilience in Canada’s Pension Funds, a report released by the Smart Prosperity Institute on Wednesday. The institute...

July 21, 2022
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08Jul

The Role of Longevity Annuities in Different Socioeconomic Classes: A Canadian Case Study

By Rui Zhou, Johnny Siu‐Hang Li & Kenneth Zhou A longevity annuity is a deeply deferred annuity which begins payments very late in life. By transferring some of the risk of outliving retirement savings at advanced ages to annuity providers, longevity annuities provide retirees with enhanced later-life financial security. This paper aims to investigate the impact of longevity annuity provision on retirement income planning for Canadians, on the basis of the tax rules and retirement system in Canada. The research...

July 8, 2022
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