Canadian defined benefit plans returned -1.6% in the second quarter, the first decline in investment returns since the second quarter of 2012, RBC Investor & Treasury Services' quarterly survey states.
The decline follows a first quarter in which Canadian public and corporate DB plans returned 6.6%. For the first six months of the year, the pension funds returned 4.8%.
In the second quarter of 2012, the plans returned -1.1%.
Concern over the Greek debt crisis and the continued decline in oil prices, along with higher long-term bond yields in the second quarter, fueled the decline, said David Heisz, managing director, in a news release. Those more than offset any gains in liability relief that came from the higher yields, Mr. Heisz said.
