Are you one of millions who wonder how your CPP contributions are invested? This is the year to find out.
On June 9, 2014, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) is inviting Canadians to join their “electronic town hall”, an interactive webcast to hear about the organization's most recent financial performance, and pose any questions we might have to top executives.
CPPIB is a professional investment management organization and on behalf of the 18 million contributors and beneficiaries, it invests the assets of the CPP that are not currently required to pay benefits. The organization holds public meetings every two years to give Canadians an opportunity to find out how it is helping to secure their retirement futures. It also follows rigorous disclosure practices to ensure transparency in its investment operations.
Every two years, the board holds in-person events at one location in each of the nine provinces where Canadians contribute to the CPP. But starting in 2012, it began to offer the live interactive webcast to coincide with the in-person events. This addition gave far more Canadians the opportunity to participate in the meetings. This year, viewers will see a presentation about the investment strategies and financial performance from CPPIB's president and CEO Mark Wiseman, and from Robert Astley, chair of the board of directors. The two executives will then participate in a live question and answer period, responding to both webcast viewers and to those in the various live locations.
Anyone interested in viewing or participating online can find more information at www.cppib.com. Participants are encouraged to pre-register and submit their questions. The website also lists the locations of the live event locations in each province. The webcast will remain on CPPIB's site after June 9th so that anyone who missed it can view the meeting.
The good news for Canadians is that the CPP remains financial sound. The chief actuary of Canada examines the financial health of the Canada Pension Plan every three years and issued his latest report in December 2013. In it he reaffirmed that the CPP will remain sustainable at the current contribution rate of 9.9% throughout the future 75-year period of this report, even with the aging of the Canadian population.
The assets of the CPP Fund totaled $201.5 billion at December 31, 2013. The fund is invested in Canada and globally in a broadly diversified portfolio of public and private equities, real estate, infrastructure, and fixed income instruments.
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