The most recent Performance Universe of Pension Managers’ Pooled Funds published by TELUS Health, reviewing figures for the first quarter of 2024, found that pension and pooled fund managers performed higher than their benchmark portfolios on average. However, they still lagged world indices.
Diversified pooled fund managers posted a median return of 5.1 per cent before management fees during the quarter. The S&P/TSX Composite Index, meanwhile, returned 6.6 per cent, the MSCI World Index posted a return of 11.7 per cent and the S&P 500 increased 13.3 per cent.
Solvency ratios
“As for fixed income securities, the Canadian bond market decreased by 1.2 per cent in the first quarter," says Jean Bergeron, a partner in the TELUS Health investment consulting team. “The funded position of a typical pension plan increased on a solvency basis over the first quarter, driven mainly by the strong performance of equity markets. In fact, we estimate that the solvency ratio of a typical pension plan has increased by six per cent in the first quarter of 2024,” he adds.
TELUS Health says the managers contributing to the universe of funds being measured in its analysis manage assets totalling approximately $470-billion, including pension assets close to $230-billion.
