Canada

CANADA - Merrill Lynch has revealed plans to focus solely on its institutional and corporate activities in Canada in that country after it sealed a deal with CIBC to hive off its private client businesses there.

CANADA - The Canadian Venture Exchange - a subsidiary of the Toronto Stock Exchange and ratings agency, Standard & Poor's - is to introduce a new venture capital index in December.

CANADA/KOREA - The Korean National Pension Corporation (KNPC) has chosen CDP Capital, the fund management arm of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDP), to provide technical assistance, consulting services and training for the management of...

CANADA - Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) has finalised its exit from the institutional investment management business with the sale of its real estate manager, RT Realty Advisors (RTRA), to the private real estate company, Osmington Group.

CANADA - The C$7.2bn (US$4.7bn) Canada Post Corporation Pension Plan (CPCPP) is looking to make its first investment in alternatives, according to Doug Greaves, the pension fund's vice president and chief investment officer.

CANADA - The C$11bn (US$7bn) Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) has acquired a 10% interest in the merchant bank, NB Capital Partners, and awarded it three mandates worth a total of C$180m (US$113m).

CANADA - The C$125bn (US$80.1bn) giant Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDP) pension fund, has put C$13.9m (US$9m) into the SAM Private Equity Energy (SPE Energy) Fund, a venture capital fund that invests in non-polluting alternative energy companies....

CANADA - Fidelity Investments Canada is expanding its institutional product range to offer defined benefit (DB) pension funds its international investments products.

CANADA - The giant C$73bn (US$48.4bn) Ontario Teachers Pension Plan (OTPP) has issued C$600m (US$383m) worth of debentures to finance its real estate ventures, a groundbreaking move in the Canadian pensions world.

CANADA / MIDDLE EAST - CDP Capital, the fund management arm of the giant Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec pension fund, has set up shop in the Middle East and has won a C$616m (US$400m) mandate from the Arab Insurance Group (ARIG).