By Canada Life | March 23, 2022

The investment manager research (IMR) team oversees the fund managers of Canada Life’s mutual and segregated funds. They monitor, evaluate, and rate the funds and their managers. This helps to ensure the managers and funds on our platform are relevant and competitive so you can feel confident you are providing the right investment solutions to your clients. 

During a major global event, the IMR team jumps into action. In response to the war in Ukraine, the team’s in constant communication with our investment managers.

Beyond reducing their exposure to Russian holdings, many of our investment managers are watching for broader impacts to the global economy – specifically as they relate to commodities and supply chains. We’re monitoring the situation closely since it’s clear the crisis and the resulting economic sanctions have affected both global markets and emerging markets. We continue to look at the more local effects on emerging markets as well as the potential for broader ripple effects in developed markets, notably around energy. 

A key part of our IMR review when selecting and evaluating investment managers is their ability to anticipate and mitigate risks. We regularly discuss their approaches to current and anticipated market challenges. Risk identification and mitigation is even more important during major global events.

During market events like this, we analyze each of our funds to identify those with the highest exposure first. For all investment managers with exposure to areas of concern, we reach out to better understand the approach being taken by their portfolio managers. A key consideration is the manager’s position on whether to maintain or sell holdings of concern. If this review raises concerns that any of our investment managers aren’t taking a measured and prudent approach, we’ll use our investment manager review process to flag the mandate and act accordingly.

The views expressed in this update are those of this Canada Life Investment Management Ltd. as at the date of publication and are subject to change without notice. This update is presented only as a general source of information and is not intended as a solicitation to buy or sell specific investments, nor is it intended to provide tax or legal advice.

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