BPM October 2010.indd - Benefits and Pensions Monitor

ʻNew Normalʼ
Really Deviation
The ‘New Normal’ is not normal and the current
environment can be best described as the “Great
Deviation,” says Harry Marmer, executive vicepresident,
institutional investment services, at Hillsdale
Investment Management. He told an investment
session at the 2010 Ontario CPBI conference
that a number of “Black Swan events” – events
that are beyond the realm of regular expectations –
have caused typical asset class returns to have nonnormal
return distributions. Recent “Black Swans”
include the 1998 Russian default and the 2008/09
credit crises. During this “Great Deviation,” economic
and political policies have become “more
interventionist, less rules-based, and less predictable.”
As a result, he said now is not the time to
move out of equities and into LDI. As well, one
way to capture the equity risk premium is through
minimum risk equity portfolios or to employ strategies
that perform well in the tails.
OʼConnell Buys Davis-Rea
Boutique asset manager Davis-Rea Ltd. is being
bought by John O’Connell, founding partner of
the Harbour Group at RBC Dominion Securities.
Davis-Rea offers discretionary money management
services to individuals, companies, institutions, and
foundations. It currently has more than $400 million
of assets under management. O’Connell has been in
the investment industry for more than 24 years as a
portfolio manager and investment advisor.
Damages For Mental
Injury Increasing
Financial rewards for damages caused by mental
injury at work have increased over the past fi ve
years by as much as 700 per cent, says a report
from the Mental Health Commission of Canada
(MHCC). The ‘Tracking the Perfect Legal Storm’
report has been prepared by Dr. Martin Shain, an
academic lawyer and leading expert in workplace
mental health issues who has written for Benefi ts
and Pensions Monitor. It warns that a perfect legal
storm is brewing in the area of mental health pro-
Benefits and Pensions Monitor – October 2010
tection at work as employers are confronted with
a legal duty to maintain not only a physically safe
workplace, but also a psychologically safe workplace.
Courts and tribunals are scrutinizing behaviour
that may cause mental injury to employees and
legal actions are being taken in key areas of law
including human rights tribunals and occupational
health and safety law.
Sustainability Prompts
Forward-thinking
Companies with superior positioning and performance
on sustainability tend to be more forwardthinking
and strategic, more agile and adaptable,
and better managed, says Dr. Matthew J. Kiernan,
chief executive, Infl ection Point Capital Management.
Speaking at the Legg Mason ‘Global Investment
Forum on ESG,’ he called on the industry to
reconsider its approach to sustainable or socially
responsible investing and instead think of it as strategic
investing. There are a number of megatrends,
such as climate change, now taking place and investors
need to be aware of them. Using sustainability
issues and drivers as indicators along with traditional
fi nancial analysis gives a more complete picture of a
company’s true competitive risks, value potential,
and future performance, he said, allowing for a strategic
approach to investing.
Vaz-Oxlade Advises
Manulife Members
Manulife Financial’s Canadian group retirement
plan members will be able to turn to fi nancial
writer and TV personality Gail Vaz-Oxlade for
insights and suggestions designed to help them
manage their personal fi nances and build an effective
retirement plan. The host of the television
series ‘Til Debt Do Us Part’ and the author of
‘Debt-Free Forever: Take Control of Your Money
and Your Life’ has entered an exclusive arrangement
with Manulife to provide her approach to
fi nancial management to its clients. Initially, she
will provide articles for member updates and
communications along with a series of web-based
seminars for plan members.
NEWS
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