Canadian corporate and public pension plans in the RBC Investor & Treasury Services universe saw improved returns in the second quarter, at an overall 2.2% vs. 0.2% in the first three months of 2018.
The universe, which has a combined C$650 billion ($492.4 billion) in pension assets, returned an overall 1.4% in the second quarter 2017, RBC I&T said in a news release.
The latest quarter was the ninth consecutive in which plans in the universe had overall positive returns, RBC I&T said. The last overall quarterly loss was in the third quarter 2015, when plans lost 2%, while the first quarter 2016 was flat.
Pension plans' Canadian equities rebounded from a 3.9% loss in the first quarter with a 6.8% return powered by strong energy sector performance, Ryan Silva, director, head of pension and insurance segments, global client coverage, said in the release.
Global equities returned 2.6%, up from 2% in the first quarter, while Canadian fixed income gained 0.5% in the second quarter, up from 0.1%.
