Leo Kolivakis's blog

bcIMC is one of the largest Canadian public pension funds. Here is a brief look at its 2009-2010 results.

With global economic activity picking up steam, and global equity markets humming along, the only question I have is how long before we see a significant backup in global bond yields? More importantly, are pensions and other institutional investors prepared for a big bond hiccup? We'll find out soon enough.

Stay tuned, we might not need QE 2.0 after all...

Occasionally, though, there arises a very different and far deeper type of fear: the terrifying thought that the entity of profit – and, worse still, the very institution of capitalization on which the entire capitalist megamachine stands – might cease to exist. This latter fear is associated with systemic crisis – that is, with periods during which the very future of capitalism is put into question. It is what Hegel meant when he spoke of the bondsman’s “fear of death”.

For all you pension buffs, a comparison of CPPIB and PSPIB FY 2010 results...

The Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments) announced today that it recorded an investment return of 21.5% for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2010 (fiscal year 2010), exceeding the Policy Benchmark return of 19.8% by 1.7%. The 2010 performance is one of PSP Investments’ best performances to date and reflects a return to fundamentals from the distressed valuations resulting from the liquidity crisis of the past two years.

Both CalPERS and CalSTRS bounced back from the disaster of 2008, but they're not out of the woods and still face considerable challenges ahead.

Maine legislators have prepared a detailed plan for shifting state employees into Social Security and are considering whether to adopt it. They acknowledge it will not solve their problem in the short term but see long-term advantages. And it's not just Maine. Can Social Security withstand the onslaught of underfunded state pension funds?

Toronto-based Onex and the CPPIB have not launched a formal bid but have proposed a deal, worth more than $4-billion, for Tomkins PLC. Due diligence on the company is now “at an advanced stage,” Tomkins said in a statement Monday.

Is market volatility forewarning doom? Read on...

Beware of "enhanced pension transfer value", it's just another gimmick to screw pensioners and plan members out of a safe retirement.

Canadian pension funds are crisscrossing the globe with cash in hand in search of assets for revenue to support this country’s aging population. Are they on the right track?

Canada's Public Sector Pension Investment Board has put a large portfolio of private equity commitments up for sale, in the latest evidence that a long-awaited boom in deal flow on the secondary market has arrived.

The funded ratio of the typical corporate U.S. pension plan fell 6 percentage points in June to 74%, its lowest level since February 2009, when the funded ratio was 73%.

What crisis? Pensions are diving back into alternatives...