September 2019 Edition

What is it?

Developed and produced by Desjardins, the Cooperathon External link. Opens in a new window. is the largest open innovation competition in the world. We’ve covered a lot of ground since the Desjardins Hacking Health Innovation Challenge, which was the precursor to the first Cooperathon held in 2016. Watch the video recap External link. Opens in a new window. of the 2018 event to get an idea of the energy level and cooperative spirit you’ll find at a Cooperathon.

The Cooperathon by the numbers since the beginning:

• 100+ partner organizations
• 300+ mentors and volunteers
• 2,800 participants, from everyday people to experts

The 2019 Cooperathon by the numbers:

• 4: the number of countries hosting a Cooperathon event (Canada, France, Belgium and Chile).
• 5: the number of Canadian cities hosting Cooperathon events (Montreal, Quebec City, Toronto, Waterloo and Shawinigan).
• 6: the number of main tracks that the Canadian event will focus on to achieve some of the United Nations’ sustainable development goals. The tracks are finance, health, education, energy, the environment and agriculture.
• 25: the number of days the immersive experience will last, divided into 5 sprints, based on the Google Design Sprint External link. Opens in a new window..
• $5,000: the estimated value of the training, involving specialized workshops and teamwork, that participants will receive during the experience.
• $100,000: the total value of prizes.

Important dates

October 2: Kick-off of the 2019 Canadian Cooperathon at Montreal’s Olympic Stadium. Several keynote speakers will attend, including Chris Hadfield (the first Canadian to walk in space and to serve as Commander of the International Space Station) and Simon Dubois (the first Quebecer to complete a crewed sailing race around the world).

October 2 to November 20: The Cooperathon will be in full swing.

What happens after that?

Several start-ups got off the ground during a Cooperathon, including Allset External link. Opens in a new window. and Dis-moi External link. Opens in a new window., not to mention HALEO External link. Opens in a new window., one of the rising stars of the Desjardins 2015 Hacking Health Innovation Challenge. Eligible clients who offer a group insurance plan through Desjardins Insurance now have access to HALEO’s sleep disorder program. You never know—the next Group Retirement Savings innovation might come from an idea developed by a team at the Cooperathon!

Follow the participants and learn about their ideas

Follow the Cooperathon External link. Opens in a new window. Facebook page or attend the Canadian kick-off event External link. Opens in a new window..

One of Desjardins Group’s core values is intercooperation. And it can be seen in how we work together and pool our resources to meet our clients’ needs. It’s in this spirit that Desjardins Insurance’s Group Retirement Savings Department’s investment platform is governed in close collaboration with the Portfolio Manager and Solution Performance Department at Desjardins Global Asset Management (DGAM).

This centralized team, which is responsible for monitoring investments for various Desjardins Group entities, researches portfolio managers and performs qualitative and quantitative assessments of the managers of segregated funds offered by Group Retirement Savings. This team offers unparalleled access to an internal centre of expertise in the evaluation and oversight of fund managers.

The Portfolio Manager and Solution Performance Department in numbers:

• More than $58 billion in assets under supervision1
• 11 dedicated professionals
• Oversight of 40 external fund managers for more than 130 mandates

In 2018 alone, this oversight entailed more than 70 conference calls and 120 in-person meetings.

Group Retirement Savings Investment Solutions is privileged to benefit from such a close partnership with DGAM’s Portfolio Manager and Solution Performance Department. Our team of 10 professionals works with the DGAM team to select and monitor the funds and fund managers our clients’ assets are invested with.

Thanks to the power of intercooperation, our group retirement savings plan members benefit from access to top-tier fund managers.

The secure site for plan members is getting better and better! It’s now mobile-friendly (adapted to use on smartphones, tablets and computers), and more improvements are coming September 15.

What’s new?

Creating an account

• To make it easier for us to communicate with plan members, they’ll have to enter an email address when creating their user ID.
• Once plan members have created their user ID and password, they’ll be brought to the log in page, where a message will be displayed, letting them know that they have to log in to enrol or make changes.
• User IDs and passwords now have a longer expiry date (24 months of inactivity).

Home page

• Plan members will have one-click access to their profile and messages using the buttons in the upper right-hand corner of the page. They can also click Contact us to send us secure messages.
• New quick links bring users to the most popular pages: financial statements, rates of return and savings details.
• They can now toggle back and forth between the English and French sites.

Navigation

• A breadcrumb trail has been added on the left under the menus so users can see at a glance where they are. It shows plan members the path they have taken to get where they are.
• The menu structure has been redesigned to make it more intuitive:
• Under My account, plan members can access everything they need about their account and their investments. They’ll also be able to see, in more detail than ever, how much they have in each plan (employee contributions, employer contributions (if applicable), and whether or not the money is locked in).
• Under My transactions, they can manage their account and see their account history and online transaction history.
• Under My statements and documents, plan members can find their financial statements, plan documents, forms and tax slips and receipts.
• The Wellness Centre has tools and tips to help plan members achieve financial wellness.

Other improvements will be unveiled in the next few months… stay tuned!

Here is a poster that will help you promote the contest if your plan members have access to On Target Retirement^®. You can email it to your plan members or print it and put it up at work.

Two formats are available:

8.5" x 11" (21.6 x 28 cm) (PDF, 132 KB) Opens in a new window.

11" x 17" (28 x 43 cm) (PDF, 173 KB) Opens in a new window.

You can also contact us to order them.

How can your plan members enter? It’s easy. They just have to complete or update their information in On Target Retirement between July 1 and September 29, 2019.

The lucky winner can choose a gift card or a contribution to their workplace savings plan.

On Target Retirement is a smart, sleek and simple savings goal tracker that:

• lets plan members create their own retirement scenarios and change information like their contribution rate or retirement age to see how it could make it easier for them to reach their goals
• shows plan members how much income they can expect from government plans, their workplace savings plan and their personal savings

For more details about the contest, read the full contest rules and regulations (PDF, 406 KB) Opens in a new window..

Good luck to everyone!

Plan members sometimes forget that they need to convert their registered savings plan (DCPP, SPP, RRSP, LIRA or locked-in RRSP, DPSP, or VRSP) into a retirement income solution by the end of the year they turn 71. If they don’t, we will transfer any non-locked-in amounts to a RRIF and any locked-in amounts to a LIF. And if their balance is less than 20% of maximum pensionable earnings for the year ($11,480), they’ll receive a lump-sum payment, which is taxable.

We send plan members in this situation a statement of options every September and try to encourage them to choose how they want to convert their savings, but there are always a few stragglers. We’re hoping you can help us help them.

What can you do?

• Ensure that plan members’ addresses are up-to-date so they receive their option statement.
• Remind plan members that our Retirement Specialists can not only help them understand their options, but also help them choose the combination that will best suit their needs.

Important: to make sure these plan members receive all the contributions and tax benefits they’re entitled to, send us their final contributions (remittances and payments) by December 1, 2019. By law, we will have to return any contributions received after December 31, 2019.

We make it easy for plan members to decide how their savings will take them into retirement. They can call our Retirement Specialists at 1-877-585-3033 This link will launch your default phone software.. And if you have any questions, you can contact Plan Sponsor Services at 1-888-510-4762 This link will launch your default phone software..

When you rehire an employee for any reason (seasonal layoffs, a competitive labour market, etc.), don’t forget to contact Plan Sponsor Services or your administrator before you start remitting contributions for them. If you don’t, the remittance for all your employees will be delayed.

When that happens, we have to look into the issue and contact you to find out what’s going on. By letting us know ahead of time, we can solve the problem before it happens. That way, your remittance will be processed on time.

To prevent delays, just give us a call at 1-888-510-4762 This link will launch your default phone software. or send us a note at grs_plansponsor@dfs.ca. We’ll do the rest!

CI Financial Corp.

On July 2, Cambridge Global Asset Management, a division of CI Investments Inc., announced that Stephen Groff, CFA, had been appointed co-manager for two Cambridge institutional strategies effective June 30. He is joining Portfolio Manager Robert Swanson, CFA, in managing the CI Cambridge All Canadian Equity Fund and CI Cambridge Canadian Institutional Equity Fund.

On August 6, the Board of Directors of CI Financial Corp. also announced the appointment of Kurt MacAlpine as Chief Executive Officer and Director of the corporation, effective September 1, 2019. Mr. MacAlpine has valuable experience and insight into the North American and global wealth and asset management sectors, having served as Executive Vice-President and Head of Global Distribution for WisdomTree Asset Management and as Leader of the North American Asset Management Practice at McKinsey & Company.

Addenda Capital

On July 4, Addenda Capital informed us that Elvira Dubé, Senior Vice-President, Commercial Mortgages, would be retiring at the beginning of the second quarter of 2020, after which she will no longer participate in the day-to-day management of the strategy. Upon her retirement, she will become an independent external member of the Addenda Capital Credit Committee. The Commercial Mortgage team will continue to operate under the supervision of Savvas Pallaris, Executive Vice-President, Commercial Mortgages and Investments, Life Insurance.

During the firm update at the end of the second quarter, Addenda also announced that two analysts, Zac Reitmeier and Kira Hall, had joined the commercial mortgage team.

Fiera Capital Corporation

On July 4, Fiera Properties Limited, an affiliate of Fiera Capital Corporation, rebranded to Fiera Real Estate Investments Limited, as this term is universally understood and illustrates what they offer as a company.

On August 12, Fiera Capital announced the appointment of Michael Quigley to the position of Executive Vice-President and Head of Institutional Markets.

Beutel Goodman

On July 10, Beutel Goodman announced that his team is growing and had added three new members: Charlotte Daughney, Vice President, Equity Trading; and Neil McCabe and Christopher Mudie, as part of the fixed income team. Neil McCabe assumed the position of Assistant Vice President, Fixed Income, while Chris Mudie joined the team as a credit analyst.

Franklin Bisset

On July 25, Franklin Bisset informed us that Ralph Lindenblatt, Senior Vice-President and portfolio manager, would be retiring on December 31, 2019. Mike Richmond, Research Analyst, was promoted to Vice-President and portfolio manager, effective September 1, joining the fund teams on which Mr. Lindenblatt is currently listed.

DGIA

On August 7, DGIA announced the appointment of Pasquale Posteraro to Portfolio Manager for the Canadian Equity team overseen by Tommy Nguyen.

Invesco

On August 8, Invesco informed us that Paul Michaels, Head of North American Direct Real Estate, would be retiring in April 2020 after 36 years at Invesco Real Estate. Bert Crouch is taking over that role and is working alongside Paul on the transition. Bill Grubbs will move into the role of CIO of North America as the first step in that process.

QV

On August 13, QV announced the appointment of Andy Mark to Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of QV Investors, effective immediately. Andy joined QV Investors in July of 2017 and has been an integral asset to the firm in his role of Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) & Controller. Andy will continue to serve as the CCO of QV Investors.

Desjardins Insurance is enhancing the composition of the Desjardins Responsible Fixed Income Fund on September 16, 2019. The fund’s allocation to foreign bonds is increasing from 10% to 30% and a new underlying investment, the Desjardins SocieTerra Global Bond fund, is being added. This new fund primarily aims to invest in global credit markets, specifically global investment-grade corporate bonds, but also global high-yield corporate bonds and emerging market bonds. Managed by PIMCO, the Desjardins SocieTerra Global Bond fund utilizes a socially responsible investment approach.

The 30% allocation to foreign bonds is now evenly distributed within the Desjardins Responsible Fixed Income Fund, with 15% to the Desjardins SocieTerra Global Bond fund and 15% to the Desjardins SocieTerra Environmental Bond fund. In return, the weight of the Desjardins SocieTerra Canadian Bond fund is decreasing to 70%.

Launched on January 30, 2019, the Desjardins Responsible Fixed Income Fund is composed of a portfolio of actively managed underlying funds that aims to reconcile the implementation of responsible investing principles with the achievement of competitive financial performance. The underlying funds are selected from our Desjardins SocieTerra Funds and integrate environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into investment selection and management, in some cases through a focus on specific sustainable development approaches or objectives.

For more information about these changes, do not hesitate to communicate with your client relationship manager.

As part of our governance process, we evaluate each fund offered on our group retirement savings platform on a quarterly basis to ensure that it remains in line with its selection criteria.

This evaluation is based on four main elements:

• Personnel
• Investment processes
• Compliance with the stipulated management style
• Performance

The result of this analysis is that some funds are placed on a watch list that is updated every quarter.

For each fund on the watch list, the areas of concern are identified and then closely monitored. Funds remain on the watch list until the situation has been resolved, or in the event that the concerns persist, until they are no longer recommended or are removed from the platform.

Our fund watch list, including a list of funds no longer recommended, is published quarterly in the Your news section of the plan sponsor services website (dfs.ca/plansponsor) Opens in a new window..