TORONTO, Oct. 28, 2013 /CNW/ - Resilient global equity markets helped
lift Canadian pension plans back into positive territory during the
third quarter according to the latest quarterly survey from RBC
Investor & Treasury Services.
According to the $460 billion RBC Investor & Treasury Services All Plan
universe - the industry's most comprehensive universe of Canadian
pension plans - defined benefit (DB) pension assets rose 3.6 per cent
during the three months ending September 30, 2013, bringing
year-to-date totals to 7.9 per cent.
"Improving economic data from Europe and China helped spark global
stocks," said Scott MacDonald, Head, Pension Segment Development for
RBC Investor & Treasury Services. "But continued speculation over Fed
tapering and the looming US fiscal impasse kept financial markets
volatile."
Canadian stocks rebounded from June's low, gaining 6.9 per cent while
exceeding the S&P/TSX Composite index by 0.7 per cent during the
quarter. "Advances were broad across nine of the ten sectors with only
the lightly weighted utilities sector posting negative numbers," said
MacDonald. "Year-to date, Canadian equity holdings are up 10.2 per cent
- considerably ahead of the index by 4.9 per cent. Value added came
mainly from an under-exposure to the heavily weighted materials sector,
with gold stocks in particular down 38.0 per cent for the period."
Foreign equities moved higher for the fifth successive quarter,
advancing 5.7 per cent against 5.4 per cent for the MSCI World Index.
"Strength was widespread across all global regions with Europe leading
the way," added MacDonald.
Year-to-date, foreign stocks continue to be the top performing asset
class as pension plans kept pace with the global benchmark, up 21.1 per
cent. "Canadian dollar weakness against most major currencies helped
boost returns by over 2.2 per cent for the nine month period," added
MacDonald.
Bonds continued to show weakness as Canadian plans saw their holdings gain only 0.1 per cent in the last three months as DEX Universe Bond
Index yields increased for a third straight quarter. Year-to-date, bond
holdings declined 1.7 per cent while the DEX Long Term index lost 5.9
per cent and DEX Real Return Bonds are down 11.4 per cent.
About RBC Investor & Treasury Services
RBC Investor & Treasury Services (RBC I&TS) is a specialist provider
of asset servicing, custody, payments and treasury services for
financial and other institutional investors worldwide. We serve clients
from 18 locations across North America, Europe and the Asia Pacific
region. We deliver custodial, advisory, financing and other services to
safeguard clients' assets, maximize liquidity and manage risk in
multiple jurisdictions. RBC I&TS is ranked among the world's top 10
global custodians, with USD 3.1 trillion (CAD 3.1 trillion) in client
assets under administration (as at April 30 2013).
About RBC
Royal Bank of Canada (RY on TSX and NYSE) and its subsidiaries operate
under the master brand name RBC. We are Canada's largest bank as
measured by assets and market capitalization, and are among the largest
banks in the world, based on market capitalization. We are one of North
America's leading diversified financial services companies, and provide
personal and commercial banking, wealth management services, insurance,
and investor services and wholesale banking on a global basis. We
employ approximately 80,000 full- and part-time employees who serve
more than 15 million personal, business, public sector and
institutional clients through offices in Canada, the U.S. and 44 other
countries. For more information, please visit rbc.com.
RBC supports a broad range of community initiatives through donations,
sponsorships and employee volunteer activities. In 2012, we contributed
more than $95 million to causes worldwide, including donations and
community investments of more than $64 million and $31 million in
sponsorships.
www.rbcis.com Join our LinkedIn group Follow us on Twitter
© RBC Investor Services Limited 2013. RBC Investor Services Limited is a
holding company that provides strategic direction and management
oversight to its affiliates, including RBC Investor Services Trust,
which operates in the UK through a branch authorised by the Prudential
Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority
and the Prudential Regulation Authority and in the DIFC through a
branch authorised and regulated by the Dubai Financial Services
Authority. In Australia, RBC Investor Services Trust is authorised to
carry on financial services business by the Australian Securities and
Investments Commission under the AFSL (Australian Financial Services
Licence) number 295018. All are licensed users of the RBC trademark (a
registered trademark of Royal Bank of Canada), and conduct their global
custody and investment administration business under the RBC Investor
Services™ brand name.
® / ™ Trademarks of Royal Bank of Canada. Used under license.
SOURCE RBC
