September 2018 Edition

Work on the Participant Services website is going well. On Saturday, September 22, the site will be offline while we run an update to make the changes live.

We have used new technology that allows web pages to be displayed on all digital media: tablet, mobile or desktop. In addition, a new graphic design facilitates navigation, especially in mobile format.

Home page

Has contextual content display, meaning that the information displayed is adapted to the user's profile. For example, the home page is tailored to:

• Plan members who aren’t yet enrolled, with online enrolment front and centre
• Plan members who are in transition (in termination, retiring), with simplified online enrolment to the transition plan

Displays investments for all groups and plans the plan member is enrolled in

Asset details page

Displays data (contributions, investments) for all groups and plans the plan member is enrolled in

Contribute to your plan page

Payroll deductions section displays actual and modified contributions amounts for validation purposes.

Profile page

Displays information about all groups and plans the plan member is enrolled in

Statements and documents page

New page with:

• Forms and documents
• Financial statements
• Tax slips and receipts
• Enrolment certificates

Contact us page

Pre-populated email form

Option of attaching up to 5 files for secure transfer

FAQ

These changes are part of our efforts to improve the participant experience. They’re in addition to the changes we made this summer. (See article in the June 2018 issue.)

A possible work stoppage is looming at Canada Post on September 26. Accordingly, Canada Post is informing its key customers of the potential service disruptions.

A mail strike will impact our activities. In particular, communications scheduled for this Fall could be affected by a postal service interruption, as well as other administrative activities handled by mail, such as contribution remittances, withdrawals, etc.

To stay abreast of any developments related to the potential strike, be sure to check for updates on the following websites:

• In the Your News section of the plan sponsor website (dfs.ca/plansponsor External link. Opens in a new window.)
• Participants will also be informed through the participant services website Message Centre at: dfs.ca/participant External link. Opens in a new window.

Rest assured that, in the event of a strike, Desjardins will be providing clients with solutions and instructions to ensure continuity of services and activities.

In the Guides and Procedures section of the Plan Sponsor site, you will find the new administrative guide that applies to all plans. The appendices include the specifics of each plan. Have a look at these documents now.

About the guide

The administrative guide provides information to plan sponsors and administrators. It includes various topics, such as the enrolment process, contribution remittances, transfers, withdrawals, reports and terminations. This manual helps plan sponsors carry out their tasks efficiently and obtain consistent results.

Note that the updates in this guide are not applicable to all groups.

As part of the periodic review of the Melodia Growth Funds, DGIA will be making modifications to the composition of these funds. All modifications will be completed by mid-September 2018.

The main change is the addition of the Tactical Balanced Fund to all of the Melodia Growth Funds. The Tactical Balanced Fund will be held between 5.8% and 13.3% in the various Melodia Growth Funds available in our Foresight offer. This fund has been added because it brings exposure to the "Value" factors corresponding to the bias that was missing. In addition, it brings a certain tactical component to the asset allocation.

For the fixed income component, the proportion of the Desjardins Canadian Bond Fund will decrease as a result of the addition of the balanced fund. The proportion allocated to fixed income remains the same for each fund.

For the Canadian equity component, the Desjardins Canadian Equity Growth Fund was withdrawn from the Melodia Growth Funds. It will be partially replaced by the Canadian equity portion of the Tactical Balanced Fund. In addition, there will be an increase in the weight of the Desjardins Canadian Equity Fund and a decrease in the weight of the Desjardins Canadian Equity Value Fund.

For the foreign equity component, there is a decrease in the weight of US growth equity in favor of US value equity. Following the addition of the Tactical Balanced Fund, the weight of existing global equity funds decreased in order to include the global equity portion of the new fund. A new Emerging Markets Equity Fund sub-advised by Lazard will be added to the portfolio. The addition will not change the current allocation of emerging market funds.

Please refer to the new allocation (PDF, 221 KB) Opens in a new window. of the Melodia Growth Funds.

On August 21, 2018, Franklin Templeton announced the addition of Julie Donegan to the Global Real Asset Fund's management team. She was previously responsible for sourcing, underwriting, conducting due diligence and monitoring real estate fund and joint venture investments in the Americas since 2010.