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(October 20, 2006) RBC Dexia Investor Services released its quarterly survey of pension plan managers for the period ending September 30. The survey shows a rebound in pension plan investment results, helped by encouraging economic news and a stable Canadian dollar.

Global markets bounced back during the September quarter, boosting Canadian pension fund investments by 4.7%. Global equities were top performers during the quarter, rising 5.3%, while domestic bonds posted their best quarterly performance in three years, earning 4.9% and matching the Scotia Capital Universe Bond Index. Long bonds with maturities of 10 years or more jumped 8.3% to a 15-year high.

“Despite a bumpy ride in the June quarter, pension funds have earned 5.5% year to date, a respectable return, comfortably above inflation,” says Don McDougall, RBC Dexia director of advisory services. On the bond front, he says “allocations vary wildly, but long bonds are gaining popularity. Defined benefit plans with looming pension liabilities are strategically buying long bonds to better match their future obligations to retirees.”

Sliding crude oil prices, meanwhile, dampened the Canadian equity market during the quarter. Although the S&P/TSX Composite Index rose only 1.9%, McDougall says “fortunately, most Canadian pension funds had already reined in their exposure to the sector and consequently outperformed the benchmark equity index by a whopping 2.1% for the period.”

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Bleasby to manage Counsel Funds

(October 20, 2006) Karen Bleasby, senior vice-president at Mackenzie Financial Corporation, is taking over as lead portfolio manager for nine funds managed by IPC Portfolio Management, including the Counsel Select-branded America, Canada, International and Small Cap funds, and the Counsel Conservative Portfolio, Regular Pay Portfolio, Balanced Portfolio, Growth Portfolio and All Equity Portfolio.

Counsel Wealth Management and Mackenzie Financial are both subsidiaries of IGM Financial.

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Symcor signs agreement with IBM

(October 20, 2006) Business process provider, Symcor, announced Friday that it has signed a three-year, $30-million contract with IBM for technical support of Symcor’s mainframe and storage infrastructure.

“With the volume of transactions that Symcor processes on a daily basis, we understand the benefits of working with partners like IBM,” says senior vice-president Kevin Meehan.

In addition to banking industry service and financial transactions processing, Symcor also services clients in wealth management, brokerage, telecommunications and retail industries. The company says IBM will continue to maintain its mainframe operations, and provide the service and support needed to grow the business.

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