12:30 p.m.

4:30 - 6:30 p.m.

6:00 - 8:30 p.m.

Golf at the Chateau Montebello golf course

Presentation rehearsals in the Canada Room (for speakers only)

Reception, registration and light buffet dinner
Please join us for an informal reception on the terrace.

Breakfast – main restaurant, Diane section

Opening Remarks

Session One - Keynote speech

Demographics, Work and Public Policy: Risks and Opportunities for Pensions
An older and slower-growing workforce presents pension plan managers and sponsors with two related challenges: finding the returns to fund accrued benefits, and promoting compensation packages that keep workers productively employed, rendering accruing benefits more affordable. Confronting the risks created by the economic environment, employment practices, and public policy is critical to the future of employer-sponsored pensions and the financial security of retirees.
William Robson, C.D. Howe Institute

Session Two – Shrinking Assets, Growing Liabilities

The Asset-Liability Mismatch [Download presentation (2.1MB)]
The session will address fundamental issues relating to the current asset/liability mismatch including where we are today, how we got here and our options moving forward. Attendees will leave the session with expert perspectives on DB and DC plans as well as alternative investment options.
Martin Leroux, Fidelity Investments

Where’s The Risk? [Download presentation (556K)]
Low capital market returns have meant increased interest in alternative investment strategies, such as "market neutral.” While not dependent on market direction, the returns and volatility of these strategies are often related systematically related to other quantifiable market factors.
Harindra de Silva, Analytic Investors/Integra Global Advisors

Designated Respondents:
1. Michel Lizée, Université du Québec
2. Janet Greenwood, Aurion Capital Management Inc.

Coffee break

Session Three – New Thinking on Risk Measurement

Lessons in Risk Management From Other Industries
[Download presentation (292K)]
Everybody from gold mining companies to investment banks manages risk, but they do it different ways. What can pension fund managers learn from the risk management practices of other industries? How should risk be managed in a pension fund and what are the implications for pension fund investment policies?
Alan White, Bonham Centre for Finance, University of Toronto

The Role of Credit Derivatives in the Distribution of Credit Risk in the Financial System [Download presentation (376K)]
New approaches to credit risk management in banks and the development of securitization and credit derivatives have changed the role that banks play in the credit system. At the same time the search for increased returns have encouraged institutional investors to participate in credit risk in new ways. Is there risk in these developments?
Richard Gillingham, Scotia Capital

Designated respondents:
1. Dr. Bill Rentz, University of Ottawa
2. Gayle McDade, City of Regina

12:00 - 1:15 p.m.

1:15 - 2:30 p.m.

Lunch – main restaurant, Diane section

Session Four – Exploring the Extent of Risk

Stress Testing and Back Testing of Risk Management Systems
[Download presentation (100K)]
The presentation will compare risk measure forecasts from various portfolio risk models. Backtesting can be viewed as a final diagnostic check on the risk model but it is also instructive in assessing the shortcomings of standard risk measures. Stress testing as it is commonly implemented is argued to be suboptimal and a coherent framework for stress testing is presented.
Peter Christoffersen, McGill University

Investor Behavior and Risk Management Models
[Download presentation (180K)]
This presentation will examine the varying degrees of risk tolerance among investors, using models that apply quantitative analysis techniques. Also up for discussion are tolerance and aversion levels and the investing activities they pursue during times of positive and negative market cycles.
Harvinder Kalirai, State Street Global Markets

Designated respondents:
1. Stuart Preston, Molson Inc.
2. John Clarke, Syncrude Canada Ltd.

2:30 - 3:00 p.m.

3:00 - 4:00 p.m.

Coffee break and speaker photos

Session Five – Risk Management Interactive Forum

The Secret of My Success: Real-World Risk Management Stories
A panel of plan sponsors share their risk management success stories with their peers and the service providers: How they managed risk differently and found success, risk management tips/best practices, their progress in risk management from a practical point of view as a fund manager.

Group photo

Cocktail reception in the Marquee, weather permitting

Dinner – served in the Marquee, weather permitting
Speaker: Preston Manning, founder, Reform Party of Canada

Breakfast – main restaurant, Diane section

Session Six – The Risks of Going Global

The Equity Premium and Risk Management in a Global Portfolio [Download presentation (348K)]
The equity premium and risk management in a global portfolio research shows that the equity premium is likely to be about 3% over the next 10 years, much lower than in the past. In this context, the risk of having a negative return for any specific one-year period exceeds 20%. The future is likely to be more challenging for plan sponsors.
Richard Guay, CDP Capital

Currency Risks in Global Portfolios [Download presentation (156K)]
Whether it’s equities or bonds, currency returns are of paramount importance to the international investor. This session will look at global index returns both currency-hedged and unhedged, and will include a discussion on currency breadth and alpha, as well as ask such questions as “should you allow your international equity/bond managers to make currency decisions?”
Dori Levanoni, First Quadrant/YMG Capital Management

Designated respondents:
1. Paul Owens, Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology Pension Plan
2. Claire Kyle, Bank of Montreal

9:25 - 9:45 a.m.

9:45 - 11:00 a.m.

Coffee break

Session Seven – Risk and the Asset Class Approach

Income Trusts: In a Class of Their Own?
[Download presentation (152K)]
As the sophistication of investment vehicles increases, so does the risk of holding conventional perspectives about asset classes, specifically the traditional fixed income and equity categories. Income trusts make for a timely case study, as proposed legislative changes will increase pension fund investment.
Paul Halpern, Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto

Active Management or the Equity/Risk Premium: Place Your Bets [Download presentation (624K)]
The investment risk taken by a pension fund comprises strategic risk (i.e. the risk of the strategic asset allocation relative to the liabilities) and active risk (i.e. the risk of the fund relative to the strategic benchmark). In this paper we discuss the relative merits of these two types of risk.
Mike Brooks, Baillie Gifford

Designated respondents:
1. Philip Falls, IWA Forest Industry Pension Plan
2. Ken Bancroft, Alberta Teachers' Retirement Fund Board

11:00 - 11:15 a.m.

11:15 - 12:30 p.m.

Coffee break

Session Eight – On the Horizon: Time and Risk

Managing Risk Over Time [Download presentation (280K)]
This presentation will provide a framework for defining and managing pension plan risks over varying time horizons. Particular focus will be given to managing legacy risks for plans with very mature demographics; risk/governance issues regarding surplus entitlement, and; the concept of “managing the liabilities.”
Steve Bonnar, Towers Perrin

Risk Control Through Transition Management
[Download presentation (68K)]
A transition manager can improve the risks and costs when changing investment managers or shifting the asset mix of the pension fund. This presentation will also examine the risk control mechanisms used within the transition process that contribute to an orderly liquidation and restructuring of the portfolio.
Mark Keleher, Mellon Transition Management/CIBC Mellon

Designated respondents:
1. Sharon Chandler, Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology Pension Plan
2. Terri Troy, Royal Bank

“Bear Pit” lunch
Here’s your chance to anonymously ask the tough questions you wouldn’t dare to in person! To cap this year’s conference, we present a “Crossfire”-style session in which plan sponsors will submit queries for their money managers and service providers, and vice-versa. Submissions will be taken ahead of the conference, and the CIR crew will come armed with your questions.

1:45 - 2:00 p.m.

5:00 p.m.

Closing remarks

Closing reception