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).
Forestry has long provided opportunities for institutional investors – but the scope for this investment remains limited. This report from the Wolrd Bank Group provides investors with knowledge about all aspects of forestry and timer investment.
Global Pension Finance Watch, published quarterly, reviews how capital market performance affects defined benefit pension plan financing in major retirement markets worldwide, with a focus on linked asset/liability results. Willis Towers Watson covers defined benefit pension plans in Brazil, Canada, the Eurozone, Japan,…
The Casualty Actuarial Society, Canadian Institute of Actuaries, and the Society of Actuaries are pleased to make available results from the 2020 Emerging Risks Survey, the fourteenth in the series. Conducted by Max J. Rudolph of Rudolph Financial Consulting LLC, the survey incorporated a set of Emerging Risks defined by the…
Doubts about balanced funds rest on claims that the current environment of low interest rates and lower expected returns will make it difficult for a 60/40 asset allocation to continue to meet investors’ return requirements. While it is true that expected returns for many asset classes may be more muted going forward, RBC…
Global Pension Finance Watch, published quarterly, reviews how capital market performance affects defined benefit pension plan financing in major retirement markets worldwide, with a focus on linked asset/liability results. WTW covers defined benefit pension plans in Brazil, Canada, the Eurozone, Japan, Switzerland, the UK…
Global Pension Finance Watch, published quarterly, reviews how capital market performance affects defined benefit pension plan financing in major retirement markets worldwide, with a focus on linked asset/liability results. We cover defined benefit pension plans in Brazil, Canada, the Eurozone, Japan, Switzerland, the UK and…
This paper reviews the historical origins, mandates, and structures of pension funds to tease out which of these characteristics enable and which impede the inclusion of ESG at pensions funds. A variety of strategies are linked to these markers to understand which outcomes are pursued, and how pension funds are uniquely…
Preliminary data for 2020 show that pension funds held over $35 trillion of assets worldwide at end-2020, exceeding 2019 levels despite the headwinds due to COVID-19 (Table 1). Pension fund assets grew by nearly 9% in the OECD area – although less than the double-digit growth rate in 2019 – to reach $4.2 trillion at end2020…
This report provides readers with a comprehensive review of the Canadian oil and energy sector covering: revenue, employment, production forecasts, emissions, and implications for emissions reduction.
There is a lot of volatility in a normal asset allocation in short time frames.This has occurred in a number of cases during the last couple of decades. To reduce this volatility, pension clients may wish to adopt a cash-flow-driven investment (CDI) approach.
Deep neural network models have substantial advantages over traditional and machine learning methods that make this class of models particularly promising for adoption by actuaries. Nonetheless, several important aspects of these models have not yet been studied in detail. To allow actuaries to incorporate deep learning…
In this paper the World Pension Alliance provides an overview of the challenges that both pension funds and pension plan members faced during 2020 and promote the adoption of policies with a long-term view toward retirement security. While not overlooking the current difficult economic situation of many workers around the…
Based on the filtered results from a weighted matrix of return factors, a non-acre weighted portfolio of Canadian row crop farmland can be constructed for investors. Following this matrix approach can provide superior features to following a simplistic ‘raw acre weighted’ approach.
Canada has committed to reducing its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to net zero by 2050. It has proposed new legislation that legally commits the country to that goal and creates a mechanism for defining five-year milestones on the way to achieving it. But what does all of this mean in practical terms? This report seeks to…
This year has been a roller coaster for many people – but, as 2020 draws to a close, investors must turn their attention to end-of-year tax planning. Consider these year-end tax tips for your clients.
The 2021 Global Survey of Accounting Assumptions for Defined Benefit Plans is the 32nd annual Willis Towers Watson survey of assumptions selected by major corporations for their defined benefit (DB) plans around the world.
RBC Investor & Treasury Services’ fourth annual survey of Canadian defined benefit pension plans, conducted in November of 2020, reflects the perspectives of 122 pension plans from across the country.
The millennial generation is set to inherit trillions over the coming decade. Asset managers and advisers must engage with these younger investors to understand their requirements, says Apiramy Jeyarajah.
Public employee pension systems around the world show remarkable diversity in design and execution. Among these, the U.S. defined benefit public pension system has drawn increased attention because of questions about the long-term sustainability of many of the underlying pension funds – as well as concerns of equity between…
The authors of this paper present a quantitative portrait of the Canadian pension fund model. They show that, between 2004 and 2018, Canadian pension funds outperformed their international peers both in terms of asset performance and liability hedging. They find that a central factor driving this success is the…
