December 2022

Canada’s biggest pension plan, CPPI, ends crypto investment pursuit

Canada's biggest pension fund, CPP Investments, has ended its effort to study investment opportunities in the volatile crypto market, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters. The reasons behind CPPI's abandonment of crypto research were not immediately clear. CPPI declined to comment but said it has made no direct investments in crypto. It referred to previous comments on cryptocurrency by its CEO, John Graham, in which he sounded a note of caution. Read also Swedish pension funds invest in cryptocurrency CPPI's...

Canada Pension Plan funds war and climate change

The Canada Pension Plan (CPP) manages $539 billion on behalf of over 21 million working and retired Canadians, making it the seventh largest pension plan in the world. The CPP Investment Board (CPPIB) however is accountable first and foremost to the federal and provincial governments, not the contributors and beneficiaries. A webinar  “What is the CPPIB Really Up To?” was hosted earlier this year by the Canadian Foreign Policy Institute, Just Peace Advocates, World BEYOND War and several other organizations....

November 2022

Canada. Are longevity fund solutions going to change the retirement income game?

Over the past few years, Canada’s investment fund industry has sought to revolutionize Canada’s retirement-planning landscape with the introduction of innovative products. In 2021, Purpose Investments launched the Longevity Pension Fund, while Guardian Capital introduced its own GuardPath Longevity Solutions earlier this year. While they don’t offer estate-planning guarantees, both go beyond the scope of traditional mutual funds by tapping into mortality credits, an idea that was first explored through the use of tontines in the 16th century. As the fund...

Canada. CPP Investments Increases Net Assets to $529 Billion at End of Second Quarter 2023

Toronto-based Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, and its’ investment arm CPP Investments, increased its total assets in the second quarter of fiscal 2022, which ended on September 30, to $529 billion, compared to $523 billion at the end of Q1. The $6 billion increase in net assets for the quarter consisted of $1 billion in net income and $5 billion in net transfers from the Canada Pension Plan (CPP). The Fund, which includes the combination of the base CPP and additional...

Canadian teachers could have a $95 million hole in their pensions due to the FTX crypto implosion

The crisis at cryptocurrency exchange FTX is having ramifications far and wide. Now Canada’s third largest pension plan is revealing details about its exposure to the troubled company led by 30-year-old crypto billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried. On Thursday, the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan (OTPP) released a statement saying that in October 2021 it invested $75 million in both FTX International and its U.S. entity FTX.US. Additionally, it said, it made a follow-on investment of $20 million in FTX.US in January this...

Flat returns for Canadian DB pension plans in Q3 amidst equity market losses

Canadian DB pensions in the RBC Investor & Treasury Services All Plan Universe gained 0.5% in Q3, bringing the year-to-date return to -13.7% for the period ending September 30, 2022. Niki Zaphiratos, Managing Director, Asset Owners, RBC Investor & Treasury Services, said, "Pensions experienced a temporary reprieve in July as the global markets rallied sharply. This rather short-lived change in market sentiment was based mostly on the assumption that the central banks' actions would help control inflationary pressures. We then...

October 2022

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...

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...

August 2022

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...

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...