Pension Matters http://www.proteusperformance.com/blog Thoughtful Commentary on Pension & Investment Issues Fri, 18 May 2012 16:21:00 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8 en hourly 1 First Quarter 2012 Review http://www.proteusperformance.com/blog/first-quarter-2012-review/ http://www.proteusperformance.com/blog/first-quarter-2012-review/#comments Fri, 18 May 2012 14:42:52 +0000 Ryan Kuruliak http://www.proteusperformance.com/blog/?p=205 Canadian Equity
The Canadian equity market as measured by the S&P/TSX Composite Index grew 4.4% over the first quarter of 2012. Gains were led by the health care sector which represents 1.5% of the overall Index. Other notable outperformers included the consumer discretionary and financials sectors. The energy sector was the only negative performer, returning -1.2%.
Global Equity
Global equity markets were also positive with the MSCI World Index returning 9.7% in CAD driven by increased liquidity in the European banking system and eased sovereign debt concerns across the region. U.S equities continued their resurgence from the previous quarter gaining 10.6% in CAD while Japanese equities enjoyed their best quarterly performance in 8 years, up 9.3% in CAD. Emerging market equities outpace their developed counterparts, finishing the quarter up 12.0%.
Fixed Income
Fixed income posted negative returns with the DEX Universe Bond Index decreasing 0.2%. Corporate issues as well as maple and high-yield bonds outperformed the overall Index. Long-term bonds trailed shorter-term maturities. The Canadian yield curve shifted upward and flattened whereas the US yield curve shifted upward and steepened. The Bank of Canada maintained its overnight rate at 1.0%, while the U.S. Federal Reserve left the Fed Funds Rate target unchanged at 0.25%.
]]> http://www.proteusperformance.com/blog/first-quarter-2012-review/feed/ 0 Six questions to ask your investment consultant: Part 2 http://www.proteusperformance.com/blog/six-questions-to-ask-your-investment-consultant-part-2/ http://www.proteusperformance.com/blog/six-questions-to-ask-your-investment-consultant-part-2/#comments Wed, 25 Apr 2012 16:36:28 +0000 admin http://www.proteusperformance.com/blog/?p=201 Ryan Kuruliak, Vice President, has written a follow-up article to “Six questions to ask your investment consultant”. Ryan’s previous article examined three themes—investment consultant expertise, service models/service delivery and retention of professional staff—in the context of questions to include when creating a request for proposal (RFP) for institutional investment consulting services.

Six questions to ask your investment consultant: Part 2, explores questions relating to conflicts of interest at consulting firms, unique capabilities that may be available to clients and compensation of consulting firms.

]]> http://www.proteusperformance.com/blog/six-questions-to-ask-your-investment-consultant-part-2/feed/ 0 Six questions to ask your investment consultant: Part 1 http://www.proteusperformance.com/blog/six-questions-to-ask-your-investment-consultant-part-1/ http://www.proteusperformance.com/blog/six-questions-to-ask-your-investment-consultant-part-1/#comments Wed, 25 Apr 2012 16:19:38 +0000 admin http://www.proteusperformance.com/blog/?p=197 Ryan Kuruliak, Vice President, has written a recent article in Benefits Canada entitled Six questions to ask your investment consultant: Part I “The goal of the RFP exercise is to find an investment consultant who will become a trusted advisor to fiduciaries; thus, it is critical that the RFP exercise identify the most appropriate candidates who are capable of establishing a strong long-term partnership”….

]]> http://www.proteusperformance.com/blog/six-questions-to-ask-your-investment-consultant-part-1/feed/ 0 Fourth Quarter 2011 Review http://www.proteusperformance.com/blog/fourth-quarter-2011-review/ http://www.proteusperformance.com/blog/fourth-quarter-2011-review/#comments Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:52:10 +0000 Ryan Kuruliak http://www.proteusperformance.com/blog/?p=193

Canadian Equity

The Canadian economy regained some of the momentum it lost earlier in the year and reported positive GDP. The Canadian equity market as measured by the S&P/TSX Composite Index grew 3.6% over the quarter but finished the year down 8.7%. Gains were led by the industrials sector followed by the energy sector which posted positive results following three quarters of significant underperformance. Information technology and materials were the only sectors posting negative results over the quarter, and were consequently the worst performers over the year. The Canadian dollar appreciated against the U.S. dollar and the Euro over the quarter.

Foreign Equity

Global equity markets were also positive with the MSCI World Index returning 5.3% over the quarter, driven by the strong performance of the United States. A flight to quality elevated the demand for the U.S. securities, helping the S&P 500 Index to return 9.5% (CAD) over the quarter. The U.S. also witnessed positive but subdued growth in manufacturing and consumption, improving from depressed levels. Emerging markets continued to trail their developed counterparts, finishing the year down 16.1%.

Fixed Income

Fixed income posted positive returns with the DEX Universe Bond Index advancing 2.1% during the quarter as provincial and municipal bonds outperformed the broader Index while federal and corporate issues underperformed. Long-term bonds continued to significantly outpace shorter-term maturities, finishing the year up 18.1%. The Bank of Canada maintained its overnight rate at 1.0%, while the U.S. Federal Reserve

left the Fed Funds Rate target unchanged at 0–0.25%.

]]> http://www.proteusperformance.com/blog/fourth-quarter-2011-review/feed/ 0 “What is Pension Governments?” http://www.proteusperformance.com/blog/what-is-pension-governments/ http://www.proteusperformance.com/blog/what-is-pension-governments/#comments Wed, 11 Jan 2012 16:56:20 +0000 admin http://www.proteusperformance.com/blog/?p=185 Gord Lewis, Vice President, takes a look back at the evolution of pension governance over the past 20 years in this article from the December 2011 edition of Benefit and Pensions Monitor.

]]> http://www.proteusperformance.com/blog/what-is-pension-governments/feed/ 0 Back to basics: What, me, rebalance? http://www.proteusperformance.com/blog/back-to-basics-what-me-rebalance/ http://www.proteusperformance.com/blog/back-to-basics-what-me-rebalance/#comments Fri, 02 Dec 2011 15:49:35 +0000 Ryan Kuruliak http://www.proteusperformance.com/blog/?p=172 Ryan Kuruliak’s most recent Benefits Canada Expert Panel article can be found here.

The article discusses the benefits and challenges of portfolio rebalancing.

]]> http://www.proteusperformance.com/blog/back-to-basics-what-me-rebalance/feed/ 0 CAP member advice: The elephant in the room http://www.proteusperformance.com/blog/cap-member-advice-the-elephant-in-the-room/ http://www.proteusperformance.com/blog/cap-member-advice-the-elephant-in-the-room/#comments Fri, 07 Oct 2011 20:23:44 +0000 Ryan Kuruliak http://www.proteusperformance.com/blog/cap-member-advice-the-elephant-in-the-room/ In this article, Ryan Kuruliak, Vice-President, explores the concept of plan member advice from a Canadian Capital Accumulation Plan (CAP) sponsor’s perspective.

]]> http://www.proteusperformance.com/blog/cap-member-advice-the-elephant-in-the-room/feed/ 0 Benefits Canada – First Watch – Matching money manager fees to performance http://www.proteusperformance.com/blog/benefits-canada-first-watch/ http://www.proteusperformance.com/blog/benefits-canada-first-watch/#comments Tue, 27 Sep 2011 16:49:40 +0000 Ryan Kuruliak http://www.proteusperformance.com/blog/?p=165 Proteus was a featured commentator in a recent Benefits Canada magazine article (September 2011) (PDF) (Online) relating to manager fees and performance based fee structures.

From the article:

‘Kuruliak notes that plan sponsors are looking at managers and pushing fee issues to make sure their interests are aligned, and they’re getting what they pay for. “Certainly, the awareness and understanding of fees has gone way up, and people want to understand what they’re being charged—to know they are getting value for that.”’

 

]]> http://www.proteusperformance.com/blog/benefits-canada-first-watch/feed/ 0 Ontario — New Marriage Breakdown Regulations http://www.proteusperformance.com/blog/ontario-%e2%80%94-new-marriage-breakdown-regulations/ http://www.proteusperformance.com/blog/ontario-%e2%80%94-new-marriage-breakdown-regulations/#comments Fri, 16 Sep 2011 18:13:08 +0000 Ryan Kuruliak http://www.proteusperformance.com/blog/?p=161  

 

 

Effective January 1, 2012, new regulations relating to the division of pension assets on the breakdown of a marriage will come into effect in Ontario. Please see this recent Pension Update from Proteus for more information.

 

 

]]> http://www.proteusperformance.com/blog/ontario-%e2%80%94-new-marriage-breakdown-regulations/feed/ 0 Benefits Canada Target Date Article – Part 2 http://www.proteusperformance.com/blog/benefits-canada-target-date-article-part-2/ http://www.proteusperformance.com/blog/benefits-canada-target-date-article-part-2/#comments Fri, 16 Sep 2011 17:39:12 +0000 Ryan Kuruliak http://www.proteusperformance.com/blog/?p=156 In this article, Ryan Kuruliak, Vice President, further examines Target Date Funds in Canada and provides a framework for institutional investors to evaluate the options in the market place.

Other Benefit Canada Expert Panel articles written by Ryan are a archived here.

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