An aggregation of the best Canadian pensions research and white papers of interest to Canadian Pension Funds. The research papers listed cover all types of Canadian pensions funds (both DB and DC pensions). On the defined benefits isde, the most popular Canadian DB pensions research papers are those which focus on Canadian pensions funding, Canadian pensions risk management, valuation methods and assumptions used by Canadian DB pension funds. White papers or research on Canadian DC pensions covers a variety of topics, with researchers... divided on whether the level of Canadian pensions saving is adequate or sustainable. Research which examine the costs of Canada's mutual fund-based retirement system has been particularly well engaged with by pensions investors. Globally, Canadian pension funds have been ahead of the game (comparatively) in view of their investment in infrastructure, and a research study examining the lessons learned for other pension funds investing in infrastructure has been one of our best papers. One of the most popular papers, perhaps unsurprisngly, is research conducted by the Canadian CFA of salaries for Canadian pensions and investment professionals (CFA Charterholders).
bfinance's 2018 Asset Owner Survey is the firm's largest investor research study to date. It provides invaluable insights into some of the key challenges faced by asset owners around the world. Key themes examined include: entering new asset classes; improving diversification; active, passive and smart beta; ESG in practice…
While it’s easy to say that we will get less money in retirement than we had expected, it’s quite another thing to confront the harsh reality. Few people realise that this will come to a head when new pensioners are no longer mostly on defined benefits, but on defined contributions schemes. And this shift is imminent. It…
The primary objective of funded pension arrangements is to provide adequate incomes for retirement. Pension contributions and investment return on accumulated funds during an individual’s working life and retirement years are the key factors that affect retirement incomes. Long-term pension investment returns are driven by…
The idea that in one’s sixties it might be time to step out of work and retire into a life of leisure is relatively recent. But with more people living longer, expectations of retirement are being reshaped.
The 2018 Canadian Responsible Investment Trends Report reveals that responsible investment (RI) is continuing to experience rapid growth in Canada. Survey data collected from more than 100 asset managers, asset owners, and publicly-available sources indicates that Canadian investors increasingly view ESG factors as important…
Ageing populations continue to pose a challenge to governments worldwide, with policymakers struggling to balance the twin goals of delivering financial security for their retirees that is both adequate for the individual and sustainable for the economy. Now in its tenth year, the Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index…
Canada’s retirement income system (RIS) is structured insuch a way that the accumulation of private wealth plays an important role in determining whether people with modest to high earnings will be able to maintain their standard of living in retirement.
Many classic defined-benefit and classic defined-contribution pension plans have not achieved their goals. Policies encouraging larger collective, pooled pension plans governed by independent management boards are very much needed to better serve Canadians.
This paper examines how defined benefit (DB) pension plans affect their members, local communities and Canadian taxpayers. This analysis shows these plans are not just better for Canadian workers, but for the Canadian economy overall, with cost savings to employers and governments because of DB plans’ positive impacts:…
Pension fund sponsors use a discount rate to determine the value of assets they must set aside today to pay for promised benefits in the future. If the rate is too high, the assets are too meagre, and vice versa. Is there an optimum discount-rate rule that strikes the right balance?
Retired Professor Ross Macnaughton writes: "Imagine your big brother forced you to give him 10% of your income every year to invest, so you could retire comfortably. Then he invested it much more profitably than he ever dreamed. However, when you retired, he only gave you a fraction of what you deserved, claiming he was…
The Willis Towers Watson Pension Index has decreased in the fourth quarter primarily due to poor asset returns in the quarter. The net effect on our benchmark plan was a decrease of 4.2% in the Willis Towers Watson Pension Index (from 68.4 to 65.5) for the quarter.
This paper assesses whether long-term institutional investors help stabilise or destabilise Hong Kong and international stock markets. We use a novel dataset based on individual funds issued by insurance companies and pension funds worldwide. This allows us to examine each economic region in conjunction with the remaining…
Who owns and controls Canada's fossil-fuel sector, and therefore, who has both an interest in the sector’s continued growth and the economic power to shape its future? This paper explores further.
Guest contributor Richard Hokenson, pioneer in the application of demographics to economic and financial market forecasting, provides his insights on skilled workers in Canada.
Today’s youngest and future generations face very high net fiscal burdens: higher than those of any other generations, especially those born from the mid-1950s to the 1990s. Generally speaking, babyboomers and their children fare well in this scenario, but the grandkids of babyboomers do not.
The most striking feature of Canada’s retirement system is arguably the large and growing gap between pensions in the public and private sectors. Eighty percent of public sector workers participate in defined benefit (DB) pension plans. Only ten percent of private sector workers can make the same claim. With the collapse of…
