Bill Morneau, the Government of Ontario’s advisor on pooled asset pensions, has released his recommendations on how to combine the assets of Ontario’s smaller public pension plans, including those for university faculty. OCUFA is currently conducting a thorough analysis of his report, which we will make available on the OCUFA website soon. In the meantime, Morneau’s key recommendations include:
- Legislation would be introduced to establish a pooled asset manager for the new fund ( the “Ontario Investment Management Corporation”)
- The pooled fund would need to be worth at least $50 billion to be viable
- All university sector defined benefit and hybrid plans would be required to join a pooled asset fund (recommendation that any fund of less than $40 billion in assets must join), while defined contribution plans could voluntarily join
- Governing board to include 11 directors, each with one vote: three nominated and appointed by clients (i.e. plan sponsors and investment funds), two appointed by plan members as representatives of employees, and six, including the chair, selected on basis of professional qualifications from pool of candidates generated by nominating committee.
- After a cooling-off period – possibly 7 years – institutions should be free to withdraw all or part of their assets from Corporation.
In June, OCUFA made an official submission outlining our principles for pooled asset management and providing the faculty perspective on the government’s proposals. We will be evaluating Morneau’s recommendations according to this document.