Investment
policy
The Supplemental Pension Plans Act requires retirement committees to adopt a written investment policy that takes into account the pension plan's features and commitments.
To that effect, the Desjardins Group Retirement Committee (DGRC) adopted an asset investment policy with investment objectives, strategies and guidelines, as well as monitoring procedures. Each year, the investment policy, including the target allocation for each asset class, is revised.
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A strategy designed to protect the financial health of the Plan
Strategic allocation is designed to maximize resilience in a volatile environment and help us gradually improve the Plan's long-term financial health. We simulate a multitude of economic scenarios to ensure the achievement of these objectives in as many plausible economic contexts as possible. We continually roll out initiatives to optimize our activities and improve results.
Two separate portfolios, two different goals
The Plan’s assets are divided into 2 portfolios with different goals. These portfolios contain asset classes that are chosen to achieve the objectives of the total portfolio.
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Performance portfolio
The objective of the performance portfolio is to help the Plan achieve its long-term target return, so that we can maintain contributions at a reasonable level for plan members and employers.
The performance portfolio consists of the following asset classes: public equity, real estate, infrastructure, private equity, and innovation and opportunities.
The target allocation across these asset classes aims to benefit from diversification to achieve the long-term target return. Our investment teams are always on the lookout for innovations with favourable risk-return profiles that would complement the overall portfolio.
Matching portfolio
The objective of the matching portfolio is to match assets with liabilities at the target level in order to protect the Plan's financial health, minimize volatility and comply with the organization's risk budget.
The Plan's liabilities, which consist of the payments promised to Plan members, are significantly affected by interest rate fluctuations. To effectively close the gap between assets and liabilities, the portfolio includes securities that are sensitive to interest rate fluctuations, such as fixed-income securities and other derivatives.
The objective of the matching portfolio is to match assets with liabilities, rather than to predict interest rate changes. Normally, when rates go down, both the matching portfolio and liabilities produce a positive return, and vice versa.
Global presence
The Plan invests worldwide, allocating capital to the most attractive opportunities and working with the best partners. In the current environment, where there is
fierce competition for high-quality assets, we stand out thanks to our well-established network of partners worldwide, with whom we make diverse investments.
