ARTICLES

Maple 8 envied internationally for diverse portfolios, world-class returns and arms-length government relationships, but third leg at risk.

While it doesn’t contain an exact figure, the federal government’s official rebuttal to a 2023 report — which argued Alberta is entitled to more than half the assets of the Canada Pension Plan — provides a roadmap in the event the province exits the CPP, says Sebastien Betermier, associate professor of finance at the Desautels Faculty of Management at McGill University.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves wants to learn lessons from the ‘Maple 8’ — but they have their own problems

The McGill International Portfolio Challenge (MIPC), wrapped up in November 2024 with another successful edition, drawing in a record of 99 teams from 47 universities in 17 countries to compete. In its eighth year, the event has become a hallmark for aspiring finance students, offering a unique opportunity to tackle real-world financial investment challenges while honing leadership and collaboration skills.

Canadian pension funds have a mandate to deliver steady pension payments to the millions of Canadians they serve. To deliver on this mandate in a cost-efficient way, the funds need to carefully balance the complex risk-return trade-offs of their investments. They do so by maintaining a globally diversified portfolio and by tilting their portfolio towards assets that demonstrate distinct strategic benefits.

To avoid the Canadian pension fund model becoming a victim of its own success, it’s important to understand its history and, in particular, how an independent mandate and in-house management capabilities spurred our pension funds to success – and why this Canadian success story should be left alone by politicians.

“I’m worried about the increased number of political appointments on the board,” said Sebastien Betermier, an associate professor of Finance at McGill University and executive director of the International Centre for Pension Management. “This will potentially undermine the fund’s ability to operate at an arm’s length from government, which is a critical element of the Canadian model.”

The Alberta government named former prime minister Stephen Harper the new chair of AIMCo on Wednesday, less than two weeks after ousting the investment corporation’s board of directors and its chief executive officer.

Former prime minister Stephen Harper has been appointed chairman of the board of the Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo), the provincial government said Wednesday. The Alberta government installed Harper, Canada's 22nd prime minister, as board chair for a three-year term, nearly two weeks after firing all of the provincial investment manager's previous 10 board members, its CEO and three other executives.

The provincial government of Alberta has appointed Stephen J. Harper, the former prime minister of Canada, as the new chair of the board of the C$168.9 billion ($124.5 billion) Alberta Investment Management Corp., Edmonton.

The decision of the Alberta provincial government to fire the board and top executives of the Alberta Investment Management Co., which manages C$160 billion ($115 billion) of assets for public pension and investment funds in Alberta, has left pension executives and academics disturbed, questioning what it could mean for governance of the fund and the Canadian model as a whole.

The Alberta government fired the chief executive and entire board of directors of Alberta Investment Management Co. (AIMCo) last week, citing rising costs without an equivalent increase in returns at the $160 billion investment manager. But were AIMCo’s results and costs out of line with other major Canadian investment managers? The Financial Post’s Naimul Karim explores the question.

When Alberta's public pension manager lost $2.1 billion in a risky bet on market volatility in 2020, little of the scorn or blame fell at the feet of then-premier Jason Kenney or his government.

The provincial government of Alberta, Canada, has terminated the entire board of the C$168.9 billion ($124.5 billion) Alberta Investment Management Corp., Edmonton, citing underperformance issues and rising costs.

The International Centre for Pension Management is celebrating 20 years of promoting strong pension governance practices by regularly engaging plan sponsor members, says Sebastien Betermier, the organization’s executive director.

Les grands régimes de retraite canadiens investissent-ils suffisamment dans les entreprises cotées en Bourse du pays ?

Canadian pension funds face significant losses in real estate, prompting strategy overhauls and diversification

A new white paper by the International Centre for Pension Management (ICPM) discusses how pension funds can generate productivity gains in the companies they invest in. Their productivity increases between 3% and 5% on average. The key: pension funds, like our clients, have a specific societal position and a long-term horizon.

Firms that are backed by pension fund investments report increases in employee productivity of between three per cent and five per cent, according to a new report by the International Centre for Pension Management.

The ICPM used data from Experian and Statistics Denmark, sampling almost 15,000 companies, of which almost 600 had received capital from pension funds. The organization found that an equity investment from retirement systems improves productivity by between 3 percent and 3.5 percent on average.

New research from the International Centre for Pension Management suggests that direct investments in companies by a pension fund can positively affect the company’s productivity. The findings were released in a white paper titled, “The Four Ways Through Which Pension Funds Increase the Productivity of Firms They Invest In.”

Although it is unclear how the federal government could mandate provincial pension funds to invest more in local companies without overstepping provincial governments’ authority, any directive could jeopardize the funds’ returns and ultimately people’s pensions, said Sebastien Betermier, an associate professor of finance at the Desautels Faculty of Management at McGill University.

The productivity of the firms that pension funds invest in increased by, on average, 3-5 per cent, according to a report by the International Centre for Pensions Management (ICPM).

McGill International Portfolio Challenge 2023 attracts over 80 student teams from 27 countries

Jeff Wendling the President and CEO of the Ontario Pension Plan is retiring.

The International Centre for Pension Management, a global network of pension funds, announced on Friday that it is celebrating 20 years since its founding.

An increase in the frequency of digital breaches among financial organizations is pushing institutional investors to take the necessary steps to prevent cyberattacks, says Sebastien Betermier, executive director at the International Centre for Pension Management.

At the start of the century, Barclays Global Investors launched a weird little fund in Canada, a backwater of global finance. Today, its myriad offspring are rewiring swaths of the $130tn bond market.

Should Canada’s large pension funds follow the path of Quebec’s Caisse de dépôt et placement and demonstrate a greater home bias, or national preference, in their investments?

Rachel reeves, Britain’s new chancellor, says that she has inherited the worst fiscal circumstances since the second world war. An exaggeration, perhaps, but only a small one. To address the squeeze, Ms Reeves will seek the help of Britain’s retirement savings. On July 8th she said that she wants the country’s pension funds “to drive investment in homegrown businesses and deliver greater returns to pension savers”.

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Faut-il que les grands fonds de retraite canadiens, un peu à la manière de la Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, démontrent une plus grande préférence nationale dans leurs placements ?

Canadian lawmakers and business leaders criticize the country’s pension funds for not investing more domestically, but doing so could introduce risks, a new paper states.

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Canada's largest bank has reversed course on a policy to disclose how much it invests in green energy versus fossil fuel energy following demands from New York City's large public pension funds, with environmental groups welcoming the move but pointing out it doesn't actually reduce carbon emissions yet.

Signals that Ottawa wants more domestic investment from Canadian public pension funds are being amplified by some members of the business community who argue there’s more these large pools of capital can do to boost Canada’s economy.

What is the key to investing success for allocators? A research paper sketched out four case studies to illuminate how Canadian pension plans deploy capital to supercharge their investments.

There has been much discussion in the pension community about whether or not Alberta’s plan to create its own provincial pension scheme is a sound idea and how it might impact the rest of the country and the Canada Pension Plan (CPP).

Canadian pension funds have earned acclaim for their adept use of partnerships, resulting in higher returns and lower fees — a style of investing now recognized as the Maple 8 Canadian Investment Model.

Canadian pension plans are masterful at leveraging partnerships to ink higher returns and lower fees — so much so that their style of investing has its own name.

With imaginative solutions and clearly defined standards, new models of sustainable finance are driving a virtuous circle of green impact and enterprise value.

Higher interest rates one of the factors behind pension funds reducing their exposure

This article provides twelve observations about the Big Nine, how they are organized, how they invest, and suggests what practices should and should not be adopted by individual investors.

CBC News answers questions about how the Canada Pension Plan works and what Alberta could do

BPM turns lens on Canada's top five pensions plans by assets under management

Ninety-six teams from 21 countries took part in the 2022 McGill International Portfolio Challenge

Ontario Teachers was an early booster of corporate governance, the pension fund will write its $95 million investment to zero

Un grand nombre de ménages concentrent la majorité de leur capacité d’investissement dans un seul actif : un bien immobilier.

People on fixed incomes hardest hit by inflation, seniors' rights advocacy group says

The International Centre for Pension Management, a global organization that connects pension leaders across over 40 funds for networking purposes, has appointed Sebastien Betermier as its new executive director.

International Centre for Pension Management (ICPM) – Rob Bauer, professor at the University of Maastricht, wll be stepping down as executive director of ICPM at the end of 2022 and will be succeeded by Sebastien Betermier.

The International Centre for Pension Management is appointing Sebastien Betermier as its next executive director.

Betermier, who is currently an associate professor of finance at the Desautels Faculty of Management at McGill University, will succeed Rob Bauer, professor of finance at the School of Business and Economics at Maastricht University, who’ll be stepping down from the role at the end of 2022.