North America

CANADA - Strong Canadian equity returns in 2005 were blighted somewhat by the long-term interest rates dropping yet again, according to Mercer Investment Consulting.

CANADA - A government plan to revise the management of the C$36bn Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS) has been criticised for making the plan unaccountable to members.

CANADA - Two thirds of Canadian plan managers intend to abandon traditional balanced investment strategies in favour of "creative" solutions such as liability driven investing, a survey has found.

CANADA - Trustees of the $1.4bn Canadian Commercial Workers Industry Pension Plan (CCWIPP) claimed they made substantial changes in response to a Financial Services Commission of Ontario investigation into illegal financial dealings (FSCO).

CANADA - Canadians view saving for retirement as their top financial priority, according a Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) survey.

CANADA - The C$36bn Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS) has appointed David Kingston new chair of the board and Marianne Love as vice chair.

CANADA - Ontarians have been told they can retire later but not sooner than 65, after new legislation eliminated the mandatory retirement age.

CANADA - The C$91.7bn Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) has purchased an 80% stake in two major shopping centres in Quebec worth a total of around C$1bn, taking its total real estate portfolio to over $4bn .

CANADA - The $83.4bn Ontario Teacher's Pension Plan (OTTP) has committed to purchasing a 20% stake in Canadian media company Bell Globemedia (BGM).

CANADA - The Ontario government has approved a 9% contribution rate increase for both members and employers of the C$36bn Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS).