7:00 AM | BREAKFAST |
8:00 AM - 9:00 AM | Morning Session Digital Transformation in the Benefits and Pension Industry Speaker: Kevin P. Dougherty, Executive Vice-President, Innovation and Partnerships, Sun Life Financial When we think of disruption that has fundamentally altered industries, what immediately comes to mind? Amazon’s dominance in consumer goods? AirBnB’s arrival in the travel and hotel marketplace? Uber’s revival of the personal transportation space? If we give it some thought, there are literally dozens of examples that we can cite that have had a similar impact. Curiously absent from this list, are enough examples from the health care, pension and benefits industries, which provide some of the most important supports in our lives. With growing Canadian expertise in areas like AI, mobile applications, natural language processing, big data, and machine learning, we’ve never had a better opportunity to take advantage of these capabilities to reinvent what some think of as the world’s most entrenched industries. Join Kevin Dougherty, Executive Vice-President, Innovation and Partnerships at Sun Life Financial and hear firsthand about the potential for these technologies to transform the benefits and pension industries. Sponsored by: |
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9:00 AM - 9:30 AM | CPBI Annual General Meeting (CPBI Members Only) |
9:30 AM - 10:30 AM | CONCURRENT SESSIONS |
| S1 - Pension Lessons Learnt From The Australian Retirement System
Speakers: David Knox, Senior Partner, Mercer (Australia) Matthew Williams, Head of Institutional and Client Service, Franklin Templeton During his presentation, Dr Knox will review the Australian retirement system, now with more than 25 years of compulsory employer contributions. In the 2018 Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index Australia was 4th compared to Canada’s ranking of 10th of the 34 systems that were analysed. David will look at what has worked well in Australia and where improvements are still needed. In particular, he will consider: - The structural changes that have occurred within the industry
- The evolution of cost effective DC plans
- The ongoing issues relating to coverage of the workforce
- The range of choices that are available to most employees
- The importance of default products
- The form of retirement benefits that are continuing to develop
- The growing member and media engagement within the industry
- The positive and negative impacts of government involvement
- The growing role of regulation
Learning objectives - How does a compulsory system become embedded within society?
- What are the critical roles played by government, industry and the regulator in a successful pension industry?
- With changes in the contemporary workforce, how should the occupational pension industry operate?
- What issues has Australia failed to solve?
S2 - Benefits Cannabis - A New Reality Speakers: Maureen Quinlan, Partner, Hicks Morley Hamilton Stewart Storie LLP Melissa Snider-Adler, MD, CCFP, MRO (AAMRO), DABAM, Chief Medical Review Officer, DriverCheck Inc. Description: Join us for a panel discussion that considers both the legal and medical issues related to cannabis use and its impact on the workplace. The panel will review key questions and considerations for employers when dealing with this difficult issue, including: - Can an employee consume cannabis in the workplace?
- When is medical cannabis appropriate medical treatment?
- What are the potential risks of use of medical cannabis in the workplace?
- What information does an employer need if an employee discloses medical cannabis use?
- What are an employer’s health and safety obligations related to cannabis use?
Sponsored by: S3 - Investment Canadian venture capital – should that be a part of your investment portfolio? Speaker: Christopher Walker, Principal, HarbourVest Partners, LLC During this session, we will learn about what Canadian venture capital is, some history on the asset class and some compelling information on why it should be a part of your investment portfolio.
What you will learn: 1. What is venture capital? 2. How does it differ from other alternative assets classes? 3. What is some of the history behind it? 4. How would my portfolio benefit from having that in it?
Who should attend Any trustees, managers, administrators or investment personnel |
10:30 AM - 11:00 AM | HEALTH BREAK Sponsored by: |
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM | CONCURRENT SESSIONS |
| S4 - Pension Is your workplace savings plan future-ready? Speaker: Kate Nazar, Vice President, Strategy and Market Development, Group Retirement Services, Sun Life The one certainty with the future is change. Technology, client preferences and the workforce continue to evolve at an increasing pace. The emergence of trends that will create a dynamic workforce will soon demand that employers and workplace savings plans adapt and modernize to serve them better in the future. Are you ready to adapt your workplace savings plan to this new reality?
Simplification, along with a smart mix of behavioral economic principles, artificial intelligence, data analytics and timely nudges can be used to deliver better outcomes with less efforts. This session will explore current workplace trends, presenting concrete ideas on how changes – both large and small – can result in a better tomorrow for plan members and sponsors. What you will learn: - Awareness of trends that should be considered in plan design and workforce management
- How the right mix of new technology and human connections will be instrumental to demystify many complex elements of plan member engagement, plan design and decision-making
- How global trends and behavioural economics principles should be considered when crafting plan design
- How simplification helps plan members understand their workplace savings plan and take action for their future
Who should attend: Plans sponsors, consultants, advisors S5 - Benefits Post 65 Age Benefits Speakers: Scott Sweatman, Partner, Denton LLP Paul Kennedy, Chief Actuary, Mercer Understand how the abolition of mandatory retirement changed the landscape of providing group benefits beyond age 65.
Understand how a recent Ontario Human Rights Tribunal decision has intensified the risks associated with group benefits ceasing based on an attained age.
Understand how age restrictions, or lack thereof, can play out in M&A activities. Sponsored by: S6 - Investment Riddle Me This – What are the Behavioural Decision-Making Pitfalls Speaker: Peter Muldowney, Senior Vice-President, Connor, Clark & Lunn Financial Group - Our minds are riddled with a host of behavioural influencers that help us act quickly in the face of danger, but make weighing evidence, assessing probabilities, and making effective decisions pretty difficult.
- Whether as a member of a pension and investment committee, or an individual capital accumulation plan member, you make many decisions, such as which markets to invest in and which investment managers to invest with.
- All your decisions can be negatively impacted by behavioural influencers, some of which you are not even aware of. To make more effective decisions, it’s critical to be aware of potential behavioural pitfalls.
What you will learn:
- Create awareness of the major biases and influencers
- Provide insights on how to manage these distractions
- Give you the tools to improve decision-making dynamics for more positive outcomes.
Who should attend: Anyone who sits on a committee, as well as all individuals making investment decisions.
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12:00 PM - 2:00 PM | NeuroCommunication: The Science of Influence Speaker: Gregor Jeffrey, Expert on the Neuroscience of Communication In Gregor Jeffrey’s award-winning talk he will show you that there is an incredibly simple way to deliver the right information at exactly the right moment to engage each member of your audience every time you speak. Drawing on proven neuroscience, you will learn exactly what your audience needs from you when you speak in meetings, conference calls and presentations – and how to implement it immediately to achieve results. Sponsored by: |
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM | CONCURRENT SESSIONS |
| S7 - Pension Decumulation in CAPs: Improving Member Retirement Outcomes Speakers: Ross Dunlop,FSA, FCIA, CFA, Partner, Ellement Sponsored by: S8 - Benefits The Future is Now - 21st Century Health, Wellness & Counselling Services
Speakers: Paul Parnass, M.S.W.R.S.W. Clinical Manager, Online and Telephonic Counselling, Stay at Work Services, Homewood Eric Pfeiffer, Senior Health Management Consultant - Team Lead, Manulife Do you know what Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is and why it’s beneficial? Do you know how plan providers are using technology and Behavioural Psychology to encourage employees to new levels of health and well-being? Did you know you can now access a physician on your mobile device at any time of the day or night? These are just some of the innovations that we have seen in healthcare in the past few years. Eric and Paul will explore these new delivery modalities and give a bit of a glimpse as to what they anticipate to be the future of health and wellness provision to encourage exceptional levels of employee well-being.
Sponsored by: S9 - Investment Advanced Currency Strategies to Reduce Portfolio Risks and Improve Returns Speaker: James Binny, Managing Director, Global Head of Currency and Head of Investments Ireland, State Street Global Advisors Institutional investors must preserve precious alpha, while mitigating risks from growing allocations to public and private foreign investment mandates. Address your foreign currency exposures taken relative to the Canadian dollar. From simple to sophisticated strategies, learn how to implement advanced techniques in currency management to enhance ROI. What you will learn: - Understand the diversification provided by unhedged currency for Canadian Investors – is it the same over the long and short-term?
- Understand the risk of loss that comes with unmanaged currency exposure.
- Techniques to balance capturing diversification benefits while managing the risk.
Who should attend: Institutional investors with allocations to public and private foreign investment mandates. |
3:00 PM - 3:30 PM | HEALTH BREAK Sponsored by: |
3:30 PM- 4:30 PM | CONCURRENT SESSIONS |
| S10 - Pension Regulatory Panel Pension Outlook Speakers: Abraham Koomson, Managing Director, Pensions, B.C. Angela Mazerolle, Superintendent of Pensions, NB Krista McAlister, Supervision Manager in the Private Pension Plans Division, OSFI Moderator: Jordan N. Fremont, Partner, Hicks Morley Hamilton Stewart Storie LLP Several pension regulators representing different jurisdictions in Canada will highlight recent regulatory activities and initiatives. They will also share their thoughts on what issues and opportunities lie ahead in their respective jurisdictions. Sponsored by: S11 - Benefits Combatting the Opioid Crisis – Whose Responsibility is it Anyway? Speaker: Leila Mandlsohn, Senior Pharmacy Strategy Consultant, Green Shield Canada Canada is facing a national crisis that spans all socioeconomic classes - eleven Canadians die every die because of opioids. The crisis follows exponential growth in use of prescription opioids that has taken place over the past thirty years, during which time opioid sales increased by more than 3000%. The root cause of this problem is complex and multifactorial and despite a series of efforts levied at the provincial and national levels, the crisis is not abating. It is now more essential than ever that all stakeholders – governments, providers, pharmacy benefits managers, insurers and plan sponsor all work together and in synergy to mitigate this crisis. Learning Objectives: - Examine the role of plan sponsors and benefits carriers in helping to combat the opioid crisis.
- Compare traditional and new claim management strategies that ensure appropriate opioid utilization.
- Discuss solutions beyond opioid claims management to support plan members’ needs.
- Explore the impact of opioid agonist maintenance treatment on benefits plans as a result of the opioid crisis
Target Audience: Plan sponsors, plan advisors, brokers, consultants, TPAs Sponsored by: S12 - Investment Beyond Equities and Bonds Speakers: Ben Homsy, CFA, Portfolio Manager, Leith Wheeler Dhruv Mallick, CFA, Fixed Income High Yield Manager, Leith Wheeler Why the US Leveraged Loan market is one of the last debt markets that is under-invested by Canadian pension plans. And why investing through the entire capital structure (including senior secured loans) makes sense in a late-cycle, rising interest rate environment. A look at the benefits and risks of investing through the capital structure, including high yield and leveraged loans. What you will learn: - A better understanding of the risk and reward of high yield and senior loan investing.
- Gaining insight into the benefits of adding the asset class to a balanced portfolio.
Who Should attend: Pension plan trustees and managers, CFOs, Investment Managers and Consultants |
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6:30 PM - 9:00 PM | Evening Diamond Sponsor:
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