Pension plans registered in Ontario are prohibited from directly or indirectly investing or lending more than 10% of the book value of the assets of the pension fund in or to any one person, two or more associated persons, or two or more affi ted corporations, subject to limited exemptions. This restriction has now been removed for securities issued by the Government of the United States of America.
Accordingly, Ontario pension plans will now be able to hold unlimited amounts of U.S. Treasuries and other U.S. government issued securities, subject to:
- compliance with the statement of investment policies and procedures for the pension plan; and
- the standard of prudence.
We recommend that pension plan administrators review their statements of investment policies and procedures to determine if this additional flexibility is appropriate for the pension fund.
Investment managers should review their investment mandates to see if they are able to take advantage of this new flexibility.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.