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2 weeks ago | 
investmentexecutive.com | Kevin Press
The confusing nature of risk-return tradeoffs is at the heart of Canadians’ struggle with financial literacy By: Kevin Press May 23, 2025 15:28 Kevin Press I’ve been thinking about alternative investments and client perceptions of risk this week. It has been on my mind since the webinar I moderated last month, The case for alternative investments in 2025. Risk came up in two contexts: the use of alts for diversification purposes during periods of volatility, such as the one we’re in currently...
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2 weeks ago | 
investmentexecutive.com | Kevin Press
Kevin Press Of the 169 investment funds that put up top-quartile performance numbers in 2020, only two maintained their position among the top 25% of funds in the four years that followed. That’s according to the Canada Persistence Scorecard (CPS), published last week by S&P Dow Jones Indices. As reported in March, 88.7% of Canadian equity funds underperformed the benchmark S&P/TSX composite index in 2024, according to S&P Dow Jones.
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3 weeks ago | 
investmentexecutive.com | Kevin Press
The World Uncertainty Index (WUI), a fascinating metric based on the Economist Intelligence Unit’s country reports, has tracked this since the first quarter of 1990. Its reports during the decade hovered around the 10,000 mark. It shot up to 16,199 in Q3 1990 as a result of the First Gulf War, settling back down to 7,863 by the end of 1999. There have been just five quarters in which the WUI came in under 10,000 in the years since. It hit 22,325 in Q1 2000.
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3 weeks ago | 
investmentexecutive.com | Kevin Press
One in five impact investments delivered above-market returns in 2024 By: Kevin Press May 12, 2025 12:05 Kevin Press Canada’s impact investing sector has reached $15 billion, according to a new report by SVX, a provider of services to investors, funds and a variety of organizations. Last year saw the launch of 66 products — directed at a sector still largely concentrated in private markets. SVX reported that 49% of impact investment products are bonds or debentures. “This reflects the...
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4 weeks ago | 
investmentexecutive.com | Kevin Press
Kevin Press Add Canadian financial advisory practices to the list of shopping items hit by U.S. President Donald Trump’s global trade war. The great expectations that market watchers had for merger-and-acquisition (M&A) activity this year have only partially materialized, thanks to capital market volatility and a risk-off posture adopted by would-be buyers.
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1 month ago | 
investmentexecutive.com | Kevin Press
Art Woo, senior economist and director, economics at BMO says there are two motivating factors behind the OPEC+ decision — a desire to punish Kazakhstan, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates, who have shot past their quotas recently, and a perceived need to placate U.S. President Donald Trump who is promising Americans more affordable oil and gas prices. “President Trump has pretty much stated his desire for lower crude oil prices as a way to get gasoline prices down,” Woo said.
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1 month ago | 
investmentexecutive.com | Kevin Press
“Fear and uncertainty cascaded across financial and currency markets” during the quarter: Northern Trust Canada CEO By: Kevin Press May 1, 2025 17:03 Kevin Press Canadian pension funds struggled through the first quarter of 2025, just like retail investors, producing low-single-digit returns on average. Defined benefit (DB) plans managed by RBC Investor Services returned just 1.1% on average during the quarter. That includes funds in the public and private sectors. Plans in the Northern Trust...
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1 month ago | 
investmentexecutive.com | Kevin Press
Canadians voted for Mark Carney to stay on as Prime Minister on Monday, granting his Liberal Party a fourth consecutive mandate. At press time, the Liberals had won 155 ridings and were leading in another 13, leaving them four seats short of a majority government. The Conservatives won 133 and were leading in 11. Final results are expected Tuesday. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh both lost their seats in what proved to be largely a two-party race.
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1 month ago | 
investmentexecutive.com | Kevin Press
In Rethinking Age-Cutoffs for Long-Term Disability Insurance, published this week by the C.D. Howe Institute, Nunes reports that according to Statistics Canada, 28% of those 65 to 69 worked last year. Eight per cent of those 70 and older did the same. “As the workforce ages and an increasing number of workers remain employed past age 65, age-based distinctions in the design of an LTD insurance program remain broadly appropriate,” Nunes writes.
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1 month ago | 
investmentexecutive.com | Kevin Press
Kevin Press Raquel Iantorno is graduating this month from York University with a bachelor of commerce degree in finance. A member of the dean’s honour roll, she also earned a dean’s award for research excellence. She is precisely the kind of undergrad that Canada’s financial advice industry needs to attract. Sure enough, she joined TD this past February as a part-time customer experience associate.
