MSCI World Index posted a quarterly return of -13.3 per cent, with growth stocks considerably outperforming value stocks. While all economic sectors experienced negative returns, energy fared the worst (and information technology took the lead). The Canadian dollar weakened against its US counterpart. As such, plans with unhedged exposure to non-Canadian equities were somewhat sheltered from local currency losses.
S&P/TSX Composite Index posted a return of -20.9 per cent for the quarter, wiping out the annual gains from 2019 and significantly underperforming the global market. The impact of the international health crisis was the primary cause, but the dispute over the natural gas pipeline and the
FTSE Canada Universe Bond Index posted a quarterly return of 1.6 per cent, affording plans some shelter from the losses in equity markets. Following the cuts to interest rates by the
"It has been an exceptionally difficult period for Canadian pension plans to navigate, as the markets have been experiencing an unprecedented amount of volatility across asset classes," reported
Lowest median returns in the last 25 years (based on peer universe data) | All Plan Universe - recent median returns | |||||
Period | Return (%) | Period | Return (%) | Period | Return (%) | |
Q3 2008 | -8.2 | Q1 2020 | -7.1 | Q1 2018 | 0.2 | |
Q3 1998 | -7.9 | Q4 2019 | 2.0 | Q4 2017 | 4.4 | |
Q1 2020 | -7.1 | Q3 2019 | 1.7 | Q3 2017 | 0.4 | |
Q3 2002 | -5.9 | Q2 2019 | 2.7 | Q2 2017 | 1.4 | |
Q3 2011 | -4.6 | Q1 2019 | 7.2 | Q1 2017 | 2.9 | |
Q1 2003 | -4.1 | Q4 2018 | -3.5 | Q4 2016 | 0.5 | |
Q2 2002 | -3.9 | Q3 2018 | 0.1 | Q3 2016 | 4.2 | |
Q4 2018 | -3.8 | Q2 2018 | 2.2 | Q2 2016 | 2.9 |
About the RBC Investor & Treasury Services All Plan Universe
For the past 30 years, RBC Investor & Treasury Services (RBC I&TS) has managed one of the industry's largest and most comprehensive universes of Canadian pension plans. The "All Plan Universe" currently tracks the performance and asset allocation of a cross-section of assets under management across Canadian defined benefit (DB) pension plans, and is a widely-recognized performance benchmark indicator. The RBC Investor & Treasury Services "All Plan Universe" is produced by RBC I&TS' Risk & Investment Analytics (R&IA) service. R&IA work in partnership with best-in-class technology to deliver independent and cost effective solutions designed to help institutional investor clients monitor investment decisions, optimize performance, reduce costs, mitigate risk and increase governance capability.
About RBC
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About RBC Investor & Treasury Services
RBC Investor & Treasury Services (RBC I&TS) is a specialist provider of asset services, custody, payments and treasury and market services for financial and other institutional investors worldwide, with over 4,700 employees in 16 countries across
SOURCE RBC Investor & Treasury Services
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