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Conference Report: Saskatchewan's Recipe For Success
Themed 'Seasoned & Sound,' the 2013 Saskatchewan CPBI regional conference saw a number of presenters from the pensions and benefits field offering their 'recipes' for everything from effective communications to an alternative pension retirement system for Canadians.

Gold Outlook 2013 And Beyond: Three Key Concepts That Affect Retirement Income And Wealth Preservation - By: Nick Barisheff
The world that retirees and pensioners face today is quite different from the world in which they attended school, raised a family, and prepared for their golden years. One's financial security, no matter how well planned, is no longer certain.

Living To 100: Can You Afford It - By: Bob Stammers
The latest figures from Statistics Canada show that more Canadians are reaching the 100-year milestone than ever before. It also reports those of us who reach age 65 can expect to live on average another 20 years in retirement.

Facts In Carrigan Straightforward - By: Mark Newton
The Ontario Court of Appeal released its decision in Carrigan v. Carrigan Estate on Halloween, October 31, 2012: 2012 ONCA 736. The decision is a surprise to pension plan administrators and overturns longstanding practice.

PRPPs Not Dead Yet – Saskatchewan Budget Indicates Legislation On Horizon - By: Shawn Patton
Saskatchewan Finance Minister Ken Krawetz's 2013-2014 budget offered new hope for individuals, businesses and an eager financial services community looking for some good news related to Pooled Registered Pension Plans (PRPPs).

When Is A Pension Assignment Not An Assignment? - By: Stephanie J. Kalinowski, Frank J. Cesario & Natasha D. Monkman
Pension plan administrators are often required to interpret the wording of court orders and separation agreements to determine whether there is a valid and effective assignment of an interest to a member's former spouse. Until now, the courts have not provided clear guidance on what language is needed in order to create an assignment.

When The Logic Fits Together, But Everything Falls Apart - By: Randy Bauslaugh
A recent case decided by the Ontario Court of Appeal called 'Carrigan vs. Carrigan Estate' is likely to cause a seismic shift in the way pension industry professionals view the mandatory spousal death benefit provisions of pension standards legislation in Ontario and, maybe, other jurisdictions as well. Hopefully, government can react swiftly or we will have to wait and hope the Supreme Court will provide an appropriate solution.

Responding To A Rapidly Changing Healthcare Environment - By: Denise Balch & Jacquie Evans
Benefit plans can no longer function in a vacuum and plan sponsors are, therefore, under increasing pressure to examine external factors that will affect their benefits plans. Prescription drug innovations, claiming trends, research, new standards, and legislation are all affecting the environment for employee benefit plans.

Eurozone Update: Latest ECB Plan A Significant Positive
ECB President Mario Draghi recently sketched out a plan that could be a significant positive for the Eurozone periphery. However, it will not solve the underlying causes of the Eurozone crisis, such as competitiveness imbalances, fiscal deficits, and excessive debt, and several risk factors remain.

Division Of Pension Assets Clarified - By: David C. Hart & Kelley McKeating
Effective January 1, 2012, Ontario legislation regulated the valuation and division of pension assets on breakdown of a spousal relationship. Unfortunately, there has been some confusion about the mortality and interest assumptions which must be used for a valuation date prior to January 1, 2012.

10 Good Reasons To Use A Passive Approach In CAPs - By: Gerry Wahl
Looking at passive versus active from a fiduciary perspective highlights the benefits of a passive approach for all CAP stakeholders.

The Benefits and Pensions Monitor Interview - Don Ezra
Benefits and Pensions Monitor's executive editor, Joe Hornyak, recently had an opportunity to discuss retirement planning with Don Ezra, co-chair, global consulting, at Russell Investments

RDSP - Federal Budget 2012: Powerful Program Or Administrative Carnival? - By: Darren Klorfine
The 2012 Federal Budget announced changes to the Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP) as a result of the government's three-year review of the program. While all of the changes are welcome improvements in how the plan operates, the budget falls short in ironing out some of the RDSP's major flaws.

Financial Education In The Workplace - By: Frank Wiginton
Should your company be offering financial education to its employees? Let's briefly look at various factors to help you decide.

OMERS Members Invest In AVCs One Year Later - By: Valerie Sambar
The Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVC) program offered by the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS) celebrated its first anniversary on January 1, 2012. This innovative retirement savings opportunity was developed in response to requests from members who wanted to invest in the OMERS Fund on a voluntary basis.

Protecting Pensions Against The Threat Of Data Thieves
Businesses are well aware of how to protect against a physical break-in, however, when it comes to electronic attacks many organizations fail to fully understand the risks or ignore the potential threat all together. With corporations such as Honda and Sony recently falling victim to hackers, organization of all sizes are realizing the importance of keeping client data out of the wrong hands. 

DC Plans – A New Frontier Or Fatally Flawed? - By: Gerry Wahl
The shift away from Defined Benefit to Defined Contribution plans (Money Purchase Plans ‒ MPPs) is well underway in both the U.S. and Canada. Employers view DC plans as a way of reducing the exposure to DB pension risks. As well, they are being enticed by lower administration costs and contributions. Sponsors, as the administrators, also have less onerous legal and fiduciary roles and responsibilities. DC plans shift the bulk of legal responsibilities from the sponsor and the pension funding burden from the employer to employees.

Investment Beliefs: Separating The Real Stuff From The Fluff - By: Michael Falk & Jim Ware
Hiring and firing decisions by plan sponsors are habitually poor. They classically hire the 'hot dot' manager and fire the 'Not (so)-Hot-Dot' one (i.e. the underperforming manager). Because good managers don't stay 'down' and hot managers 'cool off,' plan sponsors often make precisely the wrong decision – sell low and buy high.

Retirement Creeping Upwards – Old Age Security - By: Priscilla H. Healy
We need to change our mind-set. We are going to have to work longer. Everyone who retires either voluntarily or involuntarily from the workforce and who still needs an income cannot set up in business for themselves. Jobs (paying) for those over age 60 or 65 need to be available. Accordingly, our personal, social, and workplace perspectives as to older workers are going to have to become much more positive.

Benefits and Pensions Monitor interview Russell Chaplin, chief investment officer, property, with Aberdeen Asset Management.
Benefits and Pensions Monitor's executive editor, Joe Hornyak, recently had an opportunity to discuss real estate with Russell Chaplin, chief investment officer, property, with Aberdeen Asset Management.

Gold's Healthy Pullbacks On Long Road To $10,000 - By: Nick Barisheff
Gold will continue rising in value over the coming years for one reason: the primary buyers are purchasing physical gold for wealth preservation, and there simply isn't enough physical gold to satisfy their appetites

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William De Vijlder's Blog: Interactive Comment on the Investment Environment
BPM's Daniela DiStefano had the opportunity to speak with William De Vijlder, CIO of Strategy and Partners, at BNP Paribas Investment Partners.

Risk Management: Head Winds And Tail Winds By: Bruce Curwood
Over the last decade I have been a major proponent of institutional investment funds (pensions, endowments, insurance etc.) analyzing their strategies and their risks in a more comprehensive and systematic fashion through enterprise risk management or ERM. Having read countless books and articles on the topic of risk management, it's encouraging to see greater dialogue on the topic in the industry, but it's also a bit exasperating to see so little action by investment funds (apart from the mega funds)!

Benefits and Pensions Monitor interview Darren Spencer, director of alternative investment consulting for Russell Investments' Americas institutional business.
Benefits and Pensions Monitor's executive editor, Joe Hornyak, recently had an opportunity to talk alternative investments with Darren Spencer.

Employers Depend On Traditional Solutions By: Denise Balch
There is never a lack of content when it comes to the employee benefits industry. A case in point is Helen Stevenson’s recent report 'An End to Blank Cheques' which begs further comment.

Gold and Fiat Currency: Forty Years Later By: Nick Barisheff
Monday, August 15, marked the 40th anniversary of the U.S. default on the dollar’s convertibility into gold. It was the world’s de facto reserve currency and thus began an experiment with a reserve fiat currency that was doomed to failure before it began, because there has never been a successful fiat currency in all of history.

Leverage … The Good, the Bad and the Benign
Calvin Jordan is chief executive officer at the NSAHO Pension Plan. In 2005, he joined the plan after having provided consulting services to it for most of the prior decade as a consultant in the retirement and investment practices at Mercer. Prior to that, he was with the Maritime Life Assurance Company for 14 years where he held various management and executive level positions.

Pooled Registered Pension Plans – Who Really Benefits? By: Gerry Wahl
Are Pooled Registered Pension Plan really the key to pension reform and will they address the key issues? Stakeholders should be careful what they wish for.

Newcomers Must Navigate Challenges By: Daniela DiStefano
After leaving the insurance industry for six years to raise her children, Kerri Dixon recognized the increasing demand in group benefits as she re-entered the workforce.

A Quick Overview Of The Total Career Benchmark Model By: Tom Walker
The Society of Actuaries Retirement 20/20 initiative, with expert input from both Canada and the U.S., identified the necessity to reconstruct pension systems in a manner which maintains a consistent and reasonable sharing of risks, rewards, and responsibilities amongst the four stakeholders - individuals; society; employers, including unions; and the markets.

Spotlight On Risk And Natural Disasters By: George M. Klar
Does our perception of financial risk stay constant or change over time? To examine this, let's review how investors viewed Japan after the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown. Japan's triple disaster happened suddenly and response to it was almost as swift. The key Nikkei 225 equity index fell 20 per cent in the week after the March 11th events.

Indalex: Good News For Plan Beneficiaries By: Priscilla H. Healy
Recent developments in insolvency law have given increased recognition to the claims as to underfunded pension plans in corporate insolvencies: the Indalex decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal released April 7, 2011, and the amendments to the federal Pension Benefits Standards Act (the PBSA) effective April 1, 2011.

Is The U.S. Headed For A Japanese-Style Deflation? By: Daphne Gu
The Great Recession of 2008/2009 officially ended in June 2009, with the market staging a massive rally since its low in March 2009. However, for the majority of 2010, the market was directionless, mired with shocks from European soverign debt and mixed economic indicators, while investor sentiment swung like a pendulum.

U.S. Update: IRS Can Disqualify Plans By: Carol Buckmann
There have been some well-known cases in which qualified plans were disqualified retroactively by the IRS for less than major violations of the rules. In one of the most well-known, Tionesta Sand and Gravel 73 T.C. 758 (1980), a plan was disqualified for failing to contain language requiring full vesting on any plan termination or complete discontinuance of contributions, even though no plan termination had occurred.

The Benefits And Pensions Monitor Interview
Benefits and Pensions Monitor's executive editor, Joe Hornyak, recently had an opportunity to talk alternative investments with Sophie Elkrief, head of fundamental alternative strategies and manager of risk arbitrage funds at Dexia Asset Management. Based in Paris, France, she is part of an alternative investment team of 50 portfolio managers and analysts who manage more than $7 billion in assets.

Opportunities for DB Plan Sponsors Under New CICA Accounting Standards
For fiscal years starting in 2011, many Canadian organizations that are not moving to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) will be adopting the new Accounting Standards for Private Enterprises of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA). This Spotlight, written specifically for finance professionals, outlines the opportunities that the new accounting rules may present for organizations that provide employee future benefits through one or more Defined Benefit pension plans.

When Is Disability Insurance Not Insurance? By: Priscilla H. Healy
The plight of the Nortel employees who were on long-term disability when the company filed for CCAA protection will have to be resolved by the courts, at least for the 40 employees who did not consent to the settlement reached last March, and are taking their complaints to the Supreme Court of Canada.

Conversion Of DB To DC Plans By: Evan Howard
Most employers with Defined Benefit plans are looking to contain their pension costs. Accordingly, many are switching to Defined Contribution plans in an effort to achieve more predictable funding costs. However, making such a switch can be complex and does not immediately eliminate the funding obligations associated with the DB pensions already accrued or in pay.

The Boomers Retire: A Guide for Financial Advisors and Their Clients, 2nd Edition By: Lynn Biscott, CFP, RFP
One of a number of books coming on strong this decade with the words boomer and retire found on their cover, the author promises that this revision of her 2008 edition will appeal to both the financial advisor and the end user of her expertise, the burgeoning population of mature clients. Because so many clients are now entering the distribution stage of their wealth and closing out that of accumulation, it has an assured market.

OMERS Members get Green Light to Invest RRSPs In Fund By: Sheryl Smolkin
Members of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System will not only have a great Defined Benefit pension plan when they retire, they can now further enhance their retirement savings by investing their RRSP savings in the OMERS fund. With more than $48 billion in net investment assets at the end of 2009, OMERS represents 400,000 members and 928 government employers including municipal workers, firefighters, police, firefighters, and transit workers.

Driving Female Talent Development Through Mentoring By: Alice Longhurst
The career advancement gender gap is closing. A new report indicates that, in America, 2010 saw the lowest income disparity between the sexes on record, currently at 17 per cent, down from 24 per cent a decade ago. Thile these numbers are promising, it is important to recognize and address the remaining barriers to ensure reaching gender parity in the workplace doesn't take another decade.

The Benefits And Pensions Monitor Interview
Real estate appears to be capturing more and more Canadian pension fund investment dollars. In recent months, we have seen OMERS, the CPPIB, and the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan announce majore real estate investment deals abroad.

Crisis Lessons: Leadership And Cultural Traits Of Top Investment Firms By: Jim Ware & Keith Robinson
A culture study of 60 asset management firms, mostly from the U.S. and Canada, revealed six clear winners emerging from the chaos and challenges of the financial crisis. These winners, the top decile of the firms studied, were chosen because their firm-wide survey responses indicated superior results in these areas...

Should Your Plan Consider an Outsourced Investment Solution? By: John Jawrocki and Diane Smola
the global financial crisis has left many investors stymied about how to make decisions and what they could have done better. The crisis has forced most foundations, endowments, and other institutional investors to find ways to save money while improving performance and risk management oversight.

Business And Science Address Disability Costs By: Bev Lever
Through the Workplace Disability Benchmarking (WDB) program, scientitsts and businesses are working in partnership to address the negative impacts of exploding workplace disability costs and the loss of employee productivity.

Investing Must Fully Embrace Risk, Not Just Return By: Bruce Curwood
Now seems like an especially opportune time for trustees, directors, investment committees, and plan sponsors to make significant and meaningful changes in how they manage risk. While I look at risk primarily from the perspective of Defined Benefit pension plans, much of what I discuss applies to other long-term funds such as endownments.

Are Pension Benefits Deductible From Wrongful Dismissal Damages? By: John D. Campbell & Stephanie L. Turnham
The general measure of damages in a wrongful dismissal case is the the amount that an employee would have earned had he or she been given proper working notice. In assessing damages, a court will take into account the salary and other benefits that the employee has lost as a result of a termination with insufficient notice, but will also deduct any income that the employee received from the other employment during the reasonable notice period.

The Dawn Of A New Funding Era? By: Phil M. Rivard
In the 30 to 40 years since most multi-employer and public sector pensions plans have been in existence, the most significant change in funding requirements occurred in the late 1980s when the majority of jurisdictions introduced solvency funding requirements.

Using The Past To Predict The Future By: Paul Owens
How often have you heard the phrase "past performance is not an indicator of future results" when looking at historical returns? I'll bet it's often. Yet despite this, we continue to use historic data, and often the most recent year's results, to influence our asset mix allocation. Why is this?

You've Lost Your Job - What's Next? By: Ian Burns
Losing your job is an emotions, gut-wrenching experience, whether you are being terminated or offered some kind of early retirement package. Having someone say they chose you as part of an "employee reduction program" can be a crushing blow to your confidence and self worth.

Case Study: Sydney's M4 Motorway From: RBC Global Asset Management (U.S.) Inc., Infrastructure Investment Group
At midnight on February 15, 2010, with little coverage from the industry or media, a landmark infrastructure transaction reached completion. On that day, a 20-year concession on the M4 Western Motorway, a major highway in the State of New South Wales (NSW), Australia reached its close and tolling ceased.

Surplus Battle Concludes By: Priscilla H. Healy
The Supreme Court of Canada issued its ruling on October 7, 2010, in what is surely the concluding chapter in the surplus dispute between Hudson's Bay and those of its employees who were transferred to the North West Company (NWC) on the sale of Hudson's Bay's northern stores to the NWC in 1987.

Targeting Your Strategy For Maximum Impact By: Denise Balch
This May, Connex Health hosted its 8th Annual Employer Forum on workplace health and productivity management with a theme of 'Targeting Your Strategy for Maximum Impact.' This year's events included sessions on the detection and management of chronic diseases, generic drug pricing and pharmacy legislation, biologics and subsequent entry biologics, workplace programs for cancer screening, fatigue, nutrition and weight loss, as well as the relationship between workplace health and human resource policy.

Supplemental Pension Plans: Choosing To Be Different By: John Montalbano
In terms of financial reform, the next few years will be no stranger to policy overhauls around the world - a by-product of the still-unfolding financial crisis.

Inside The Pension Crisis By: Adam C. Tosh
No crisis is real until it's too late. This means no wake-up call until the accounts run dry. That seems to be the shared mindset of many U.S. state and local governments towards their vine-withered pension funds.

Ontario Pension Reform Goes In Wrong Direction By: Mark Newton
The Ontario government has released its proposed measures for Phase 2 of its pension reform agenda. These reforms follow Bill 236 that received Royal Asent in May of this year.

The DC Pension Plan Investment Wilderness By: Mark Barnicutt, MBA, CFA
Over the past year, we've spent considerable time educating ourselves about the investment alternatives available to Canadians with Defined Contribution pension plans.

The Healthcare Costs Recovery Act: Not Just For Bad Drivers By: Valerie Dixon
The Health Care Costs Recovery Act came into force in British Columbia just over a year ago. Under that legislation, if a person receives healthcare services for a "personal injury" as a result of the negligence or "wrongful act" of a "wrongdoer," must indemnify the Ministry of Health for costs associated with the healthcare received.

Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) & GST Faq For Pension Plans And Other Employee Benefit Arrangements By: Greg Hurst & John Parker
Changes to 'place of supply rules' and new proposed HST rules for financial institutions that are applicable to 'investment funds' will mean that many RPPs, DPSPs, and other similar trusteed arrangements may either have to pay an HST assessment or become entitled to an HST rebate.

Federal Government Tweaks Pension Solvency Funding Rules And Investment Limits By: Mark Newton
On May 3, 2010 the federal department of finance introduced draft regulatory amendments to the federal Pension Benefits Standards Act (1985), concerning solvency funding requirements and quantitative investment limits.

U.S. Hearlthcare Reform: Early Retiree Reinsurance Program By: Susan M. Nash, Amy M. Gordon & Joanna C. Kerpen
Employers providing health coverage to early retirees in the U.S. should be aware of the new retiree reinsurance program under healthcare reform that goes into effect June 1, 2010.

Understanding And Managing Stakeholder Risk In The DC Environment By: tony Ioanna and Ivor Krol
In Part 1 of this three part series, we revisited the fundamentals of a CAP in order to expose the mismatch between the information that most plan participants are provided with to assist them with their retirement planning and their underlying retirement objectives. In this second article, we will continue to examine what can be done to align decision-making tools with DC plan participants' needs in order to mitigate the risk for sponsors and members alike.

RCAs And Key Employee Retention By: Pierre Ghorbanian
As the current recession and economic crisis continues to grip world economies, large stable companies and small businesses are both feeling the crunch. Bankruptcy and mergers/acquisitions are now daily news stories.

Understanding And Managing Stakeholder Risk By: Tony Ioanna & Ivor Krol
This past decade has witnessed a significant increase in the number and size of Capital Accumulation Plans (CAP), particularly DC pension plans, Group RRSPs and DPSPs.

A New Bias: An Unprecedented Opportunity To Initiate True Reform By: Warren Laing
In an effort to articulate the nature pension reform in Canada might take, significant work has already been completed. The media, government committees (both federal and provincial) and various organizations in the private sector have submitted a range of options and opinions that is equalled only by the range of biases those same options and opinions represent.

The Pension Holy Grail: Can It Be Found? By: Paul Owens
Lately, much has been written about the ideal pension system for Canada. One of the biggest problems is the lack of unamity as to what constitutes an ideal pension/retirement income scheme. The gap between where we are today relative to where we'd like to be is not solvable in one step.

Canada's Pension Pillars In Need Of Repair: Report Of Provincial Finance Ministers By: Mark Newton
The steering committee of provincial finance ministers has posted its report on retirement income adequacy in Canada and its proposals for improving pension plan coverage. The committee is chaired by Colin Hanson, the minister of finance for British Columbia.

Mandatory Retirement Being Retired Across Canada By: Derek Knoechel
Mandatory retirement has a long and storied history as part of the Canadian labour system. As we enter 2010, it appears that a new chapter is being written, one in which mandatory retirement is the exception rather than the norm.

Perspective On The Recent Money Market Fund Reforms By: Carolyn Cross
On January 27, 2010, the SEC approved new reforms constraining risk in money market funds. The reforms modify Rule 2a-7 of the Investment Company Act of 1940 which governs money market funds. To provide investors principal protection and liquidity, Rule 2a-7 imposed strict investment guidelines on money market funds, and, in turn, allowed funds to use the amortized cost method of pricing and to transact at a stable $1.00 NAV.

Investment: The Case For Global Fixed Income
The global fixed income markets have significantly expanded and developed over the past two decades, with many advances occurring in more recent years. There are now more than 100 countries with fully or partially functioning fixed income and/or currency markets.

Laying Down the Infrastructure Concept By: Joe the Investor
There is much anticipation over the money being pledged to renew aging infrastructure, and, in some cases, expanding it throughout North America. Much of the anticipation focuses on private building and/or operation.

In Praise Of Innovation What Investors Should Consider About Both MPT And Behavioural Finance By: George Klar
For several months, rumours circulated on the internet about and unorthodox medical break-through that dealth with a heart-wrenching disease called Multiple Sclerosis (MS).

The HR Space - When The Virtual And Real Worlds Collide By: Lyne Duhaime
An IBM employee from Quebec made headlines last month when her disability benefits were cut off by the insurance company after it saw pictures of her on Facebook. Despite being off work for depression, the employee had posted photos of herself on vacation at the beach and at a Chippendale's show.

Global Markets At The End Of A 'Lost Decade' By: James Fairweather
As the end of one of the worst (inflation-adjusted) decades in stock market history draws near, investors might be forgiven for viewing the years since the bursting of the dotcom bubble as a 'lost decade'. But while equity returns have been dismal, the last 10 years have not been entirely in vain.

Legal Roundup 'Legal Responses To The Federal Government Pension Regulation Proposal'
Plan sponsors will be required to fully fund pension benefits on plan termination. Any solvency deficit that exists at the time of termination will be required to be amortized in equal payments over no more than five years.

Pension Insolvency: Intelligent Solutions Needed By: Mark Newton
The plight of retiress and other members of Nortel's and other insolvent pension plans brings into focus the need for intelligent solutions to complex pension issues. Unfortunately, much of the recent public debate has been unbalanced, ill-informed and has failed to properly recognize the policy objectives the insolvency legislation and pension legislation.

Planning For A Pandemic: CCOHS' Guide To Staying Safe By: The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS)
Every few decades there is a radical change in the influenza virus. This large change means many more people will be affected as they may not be immune to this disease. If a large number of people become ill, a pandemic may occur.

The Case for Quality By: Arman Gevorgyan, CFA, and Amy Orr
Early in April 2009, Rogerscasey published a research brief in which we argued that clients should patiently and methodically rebalance into U.S. equities throughout 2009. Within broader equities, we urged clients to invest in high quality strategies and avoid deep value managers.

Don't Be Afraid to Get a Second Opinion By: Sadaf Siddiqui
Facing a serious illness can be nothing short of overwhelming. Imagine being told by your doctor that you have been diagnosed with a critical medical illness.

The Origins Of The Subprime Fiasco In The U.S. By: Joe the Investor
The subprime meltdown was been documented by many sources, but where did it really come from? How long were the seeds planted before the eventual calamity took place? Who or what are the key factors in allowing it to happen?

Sales Tax Cost Of Administration By: Craig Robertson
Two recent decisions of the Federal Court of Appeal (FCA) - General Motors of Canada and The Canadian Medical Protection Associations, could mean GST savinigs opportunities for employers and other sponsors of benefits plans.

The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same By: Jonathan Norwood
Well, it's official. In rather anti-climatic fashion, both GM and Chryslef have now filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. And quite frankly it is hard to feel any empathy for either. After all, their arguably obtuse management teams still had Hummer and Hemi on the brain while the Japanese were introducing their second generation of hybrid vehicles into North America.

Surplus Distribution Dispute Decision Alleviates Some Concerns By: Priscilla H. Healy & John R. Varley
The decision of the Financial Services Tribunal (FST) in the Montreal Trust surplus distribution dispute has alleviated much, although not all, of the 'you can't get there from here' concern that had been raised by reason of the superintendent's initial position in that matter.

Finding Good Employees - Varsity Sports In Canada 'A Conundrum' By: Laura Slipp
Employers advertise they are striving for success in business and reaching out to identify the best candidates to work in their organizations.

What's Driving The Market By: Sam Wiseman
This note does not attempt to join the revived fad of picking a market bottom; we do not believe we are wise enough to do so, nor can we be. History has demonstrated conclusively that no one can make money timing the markets, except on a lucky occasion. You need to be correct more than 70 per cent of the time to do so, and no one ever has.

Rebalancing In A Crisis By: Michael Thomas
Dramatic and ongoing declines in the equity markets across the globe have caused some to question whether adhering to their policy portfolios and rebalancing rules still make sense. In general, Russell advocates sticking to one's policy targets and continuing to follow existing rebalancing rules as long as this remains feasible.

Pension Reform In Ontario: Shuffling The Deck Chairs By: Priscilla H. Healy
Three governmental task forces established by four provincial governments have recently released reports to the irrespective governments as to reforms in pension legislation and, in Ontario's case, as to reforms in the pension regulatory structure.

Pension Election Deficit Disorder By: Richard Taylor
The last 12 months have not been kind to pension funds. The numbers are staggering and sobering. More than $5 trillion has evaporated, as if vanished into thin air, since October 2007. The solvency of insurance companies, blue chip corporations, and the financial instruments that underpin them are under profound stress.

Is Senior Care The New Child Care? By: Paul Hogan
Families who looked for child care services 20 years ago are looking for caregiving services again, only now it‟s not for their children, but their senior parents. As the population ages and more working Boomers care for their parents, the impact on the workplace can be profound.

Pensions The Pension You Need Not Worry About By: Bruce Little
Pension worries are back at the forefront of Canadians‟ concerns and the top of their politicians‟ in-baskets. The stock market crash has undermined the personal savings of Canadians who count on their share holdings for retirement income, while those expecting a company pension built over years of work see a parade of equally grim stories.

Governance Who Is Managing Your Retirement Income? By: Jon Stokes
Funding pension plans and securing the financial future of pension participants and beneficiaries is a growing global challenge. An aging population and increasing longevity will continue to limit the ability of the state to act as an effective provider of retirement income for individuals worldwide.

DB Pensions Funding Relief Update
With many Canadian Defined Benefit pension plans slipping into solvency deficiency as a result of the performance of global financial markets since last summer, pension jurisdictions have enacted or are considering measures to deal with the funded status of plans.

Facts And Figures On Cycles And Their Implications For Institutional Investors By: Harry Marmer
“Study history, study history” was one of the many pearls of advice that Sir Winston Churchill gave us. Every new recession and accompanying bear market presents us with the opportunity to study history and review the statistics of capital market cycles in order to gain some perspective on the current market environment and how to be bestpositioned for the future.