Learn How to Balance Pension Fund Assets and Liabilities at the Canadian Institutional Investment Summit

Added by Gary Dunn on September 2, 2010

Josephine Marks, the managing director for pension assets at the Scotiabank Group Treasury, stated that as the chairperson for the Canadian Institutional Investment Summit 2010, she will share her opinion on how to avoid the disconnection between the investment strategy and pension fund benefit design in Canada. Ms. Marks thinks that investors should and need to ensure a strong bond between the investment strategy and pension fund design, otherwise the fund might be unable to meet benefit obligations.

Ms. Josephine Marks stated that some of the issues that are currently challenging institutional investors in Canada are the choice of pension framework, which will automatically determine the type and level of risk that will be assumed in exchange for benefits, and the uncertainty in capital markets. ‘Canadian institutional investors need to realize the importance of good risk management, the necessity to better understand and be aware of the risks that are inherent in their portfolios, and how they can be managed better relative to plan design.’

Mrs. Marks also thinks that risk management and knowledge should be applied to the plan design in order to ensure that the assumed risks are consistent enough compared to the plan design objectives, because unless applied, the connection between the two won’t be strong enough. Josephine Marks will be speaking as the chairperson for the Canadian Institutional Investment Summit 2010, which will take place between October 25 and 27 in Gatineau-Ottawa, Quebec, in Canada.