Leo Kolivakis's blog

Economist Jack Mintz from the University of Calgary got crowds buzzing at the western regional conference of the Canadian Pension and Benefits Institute, when he predicted that the defined benefit pension plan could make a comeback.

Michael Sabia, President and CEO of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, Canada's biggest pension fund, was the guest speaker at the the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal's Desjardins business luncheon - Business Voices. He talked about the many facets of the Caisse's contribution to the economic development of Quebec, mainly in the context of a changing world, which both the Caisse and Quebec need to adapt to in order to achieve their full potential.

Norway's Auditor General recently issued a report to the parliament that was highly critical of Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), the arm of the central bank which runs the $512 billion Government Pension Fund.

Today's U.S. mid-term election is widely expected to bring bad news for President Barack Obama. But according to Chris Hedges, the situation is way worse than that which is why he's written an obituary for American liberalism.

Don't underestimate the contagion effects of state pension meltdowns...

Come listen to PSP Investments' Annual Public Meeting 2010...

The Irish National Pensions Reserve Fund (NPRF) was up 1.9% in Q3, but has suffered a loss of €400m on the investments it was forced to make in Bank of Ireland and AIB.

Hundreds of thousands of Britons have taken a holiday from their personal pension contributions, in further proof of the severity with which household budgets have been squeezed by the economic downturn.

"Don't let the rally in the stock and bond markets fool you. Many Americans are still hurtling towards a retirement disaster. Few realize it. Even many of those running the big pension funds don't know." If you want to know why hope is not a strategy, read this comment carefully.

Can Ireland avoid another potato famine? Not if they listen to senior advisers who are urging the government to use state pension monies to shore up their fledgling debt markets..

Sovereign wealth funds are a force to be reckoned with. Some like Singapore's GIC have started to selectively take on more risk while others, loading up on domestic debt, are in for a nasty surprise...

Joe Saluzzi is warning us not to trust the rally. But performance anxiety is hitting asset managers who are now scrambling to make up the difference...

What's keeping Leo de Bever, CEO & CIO of the Alberta Investment Management Corporation, up at night?

What does it take to succeed in the world of entrepreneurship?

Canada's pension system is one of the best in the world, though there is room for improvement. Overall, the pension experts judged the US system, as well as those in the UK and Canada, as less sustainable than just a year ago, when they conducted their first joint international study.