Description: The Alberta Investment Management Corp. (AIMCo) – the organization that manages the public sector pension funds in the western province – is coming under criticism for investing over $1 billion in the Alberta oil patch. A number of these investments have lost money, with one company collapsing despite a $60 million investment by AIMCo. Critics point out that unlike the Canada Pension Plan, AIMCo is subject to political influence, such as a clause allowing the Minister of Finance to assign chunks of the portfolio to another fund manager.
Date: April 22, 2020
Source: thestar.com
Discussion points:
1) Do you know anyone from Alberta who may be impacted by AIMCo’s investment strategy?
2) Why do you think the story seems to suggest that the Canada Pension Plan has a better governance model than AIMCo?
3) Wiley’s Understanding Financial Accounting identifies three types of pension plans on pages 455-457. Which type do the provincial employees in the province of Alberta have?
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