Canadian Investment Review’s Pension Leadership Awards 2023 | Contex Group Inc. | 16 September 2022 | TBA , TBA

The third annual Pension Leadership Awards will celebrate the plan sponsors and pension investors who showed exceptional leadership and have been working tirelessly to ensure strong investment outcomes for their plan members. It will recognize winners across several categories.

• Investment Officer of the Year
- This award will be presented to an Investment Officer who has demonstrated leadership when it comes to pension investing and made demonstrable improvements to his or her organization’s investment process. This award will take a holistic view of ‘success’ and consider environmental, social and governance factors when determining who deserves recognition.

• Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award
- This award will be presented to either a plan sponsor, pension plan board member, investment manager, law firm or consultant who has achieved professional success and also dedicated time and/or energy into promoting diversity and inclusion in pension investing.

• Sustainable Investing Award
- This award will be presented to a pension plan that has shown leadership and/or significant progress when it comes to incorporating sustainability into the investment process. This will consider sound practices related to environmental, social and governance matters across asset classes and can include considerations related to people management within a pension plan itself.

• Risk Management Award
- This award will go to a pension plan that has seen success implementing a robust approach to its risk management function. This can include implementing de-risking or re-risking or showcase day-to-day processes in place for risk management in pension plan investments.

• Innovation in DC Investment Award
- This award will go to a pension plan that takes an innovative approach to its investment offerings either in the accumulation phase, decumulation phase or both or that has recently made changes to its investment lineup to improve plan member outcomes. This award will consider plan member experience across the lifecycle.

• Pension Plan Communications
- This award recognizes an organization that has developed innovative and effective strategies for communicating a pension plan initiative to its members. Nominees will be judged for the ambition, innovation and overall outcome of the communication strategy.

2021 Award Winners

• Chief Investment Officer of the Year
- James Davis, chief investment officer, the OPSEU Pension Trust

• Sustainable Investing Award
- British Columbia Investment Management Corp.

• Innovation in DC Investment Award
- Michael Dodd, associate vice-president, pensions, treasury and financial services, the Co-operators Group Ltd.

• Money manager of the year
- BlackRock Asset Management Canada Ltd.

• Fastest money manager climber – assets growth
- BlackRock Asset Management Canada Ltd.

• Fastest money manager climber – percentage growth
- Black Creek Investment Management Inc.