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WWW.BENEFITSANDPENSIONSMONITOR.COM ISSUE 36.04

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ANNUAL REPORT & DIRECTORY

MONEY MANAGERS TDAM CEO Deepening relationships

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ISSUE 36.04

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CONTENTS

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UPFRONT     02 Editorial Airport privatization

04 Statistics      Budgets stay frozen, private plans shrink

48 Other life Poolside prevention

OPINION

BUILDING RESILIENCE

Long-term planning remains important

08 Mistaking interest-rate risk Fixed income is no longer a check-box exercise

45 Rehabilitating tracking error Total portfolio approach re-evaluated

46 DB pensions, a workforce strategy?

MONEY MANAGERS ANNUAL REPORT AND DIRECTORY

Pensions can address talent issues

23 Ownership and succession Why ownership drives service

26 Directory

SPECIAL REPORT

RISING STARS Specialized skills, depth of experience define 2026

INDUSTRY ICON

STRUCTURE SHARPENS TDAM’S EDGE

SPECIAL REPORT

David Sykes on prioritizing institutional client needs

C-suite representation has declined this year

HOT LIST

BENEFITSANDPENSIONSMONITOR.COM

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UPFRONT

EDITORIAL

A KM Business Information Canada publication

benefitsandpensionsmonitor.com

Don’t let patriotism cost us public goods

ISSUE 36.04 EDITORIAL Managing Editor James Burton Senior Editor David Kitai

ne of the landmark decisions announced at September’s Investment Summit in Toronto was the prospect of the federal government selling stakes in Canada’s four largest airports to private investors. It is, on paper, something of a textbook move – free up capital for investments in these airports and alleviate some of the management burden that falls on public shoulders. Canada’s pension funds, many of which have successfully bought stakes in foreign airports, have been presented as the investors most likely to buy pieces of YYZ, YVR, YUL, and YYC. Any deal for these airports is still far from completion, and the details have yet to be hashed out, but there are cautionary tales that Canadians and even the pension funds that might want to buy into these airports should keep in mind. On a global scale, airport privatization has largely been an exercise in short-term gain at a long-term cost. The privatization of Australian airports in the 1990s saw significant increases in travel costs, with some charges rising by almost 60 percent. The United Kingdom is rife with horror stories about privatization. Its airports became

Canada’s pension funds should engage in a wider discussion about how public infrastructure can meaningfully contribute to the genuine public good more expensive and less reliable after privatization, and the decision to privatize several rail services and public utilities created long-term political and economic struggles that the country wrestles with to this day. Canada has also seen how the privatization of public infrastructure can go badly, with the sale of Highway 407 resulting in billions of dollars in lost revenue for the Ontario government. I am well aware that Canada’s pension funds have often been the beneficiaries of these sales, even if they come at a public cost. However, I believe that as pension funds and the members who support them consider deals over Canada’s airports, they must remain mindful of broader questions of responsibility and public perception. Even if all the pension funds can buy is a minority stake in the airports, they would do well to recall the pitfalls of past privatization exercises and how public experiences with that infrastructure can breed resentment toward both the owners and governments that chose to sell assets the public purse helped build. Any airport deal can and will be framed as part of the federal government’s mandate to realign Canada’s economy and spur new investment. But the sale of public assets to private capital is and has been the hallmark of a policy consensus that began in the 1980s and was turbocharged after the global financial crisis. Instead of reverting to that old shortterm trope, Canada’s pension funds should engage in a wider discussion about how public infrastructure can meaningfully contribute to the genuine public good.

David Kitai, senior editor

Senior Journalist Josh Welsh Senior Sponsored Content Writer Manal Ali Production Editors Tara Tovell, Christina Jelinek, Karen Atienza, Allison Ingusan

ART & PRODUCTION

CORPORATE President Tim Duce Chief Human Resources Officer Julia Bookallil Chief Revenue Officer Dane Taylor Chief Information Officer Terry Szames COO George Walmsley CEO Mike Shipley

Vice President, Production Monica Lalisan

EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD

Creative Director Marla Morelos

Katie McNulty, CAAT Pension Plan

Designers Joenel Salvador, Aira Olgado, JP Dizon, Noel Avendano Production Coordinators Kat Guzman, Loiza Razon Project Management Specialist Gail Baes

Celine Chiovitti, OMERS Greg Hurst, Greg Hurst & Associates Jim Helik, James Helik Consulting Tim Clarke, tc Health Consulting Gavin Mosley, Mosley Group Benefits Joyce Hum, Neuberger Berman Anthony Spagnolo, Baillie Gifford

SALES & MARKETING Vice President, Global Sales (Wealth) Abhiram Prabhu Publisher Michael Hughes Editorial advisory board members meet informally and are consulted when appropriate to their areas of expertise, interest, or jurisdiction. The members bear no responsibility for the contents of the magazine.

EDITORIAL INQUIRIES

james.burton@keymedia.com

SUBSCRIPTION INQUIRIES

tel: 416 644 8740 • fax: 416 203 8940 subscriptions@keymedia.com

ADVERTISING INQUIRIES

Michael Hughes michael.hughes@keymedia.com

KM Business Information Canada Ltd. 317 Adelaide Street West, Suite 910, Toronto, ON M5V 1P9 tel: +1 416 644 8740 www.keymedia.com Canada • USA • UK• Australia • New Zealand • Philippines

Benefits & Pensions Monitor is part of an international family of B2B publications, websites, and events for the finance and insurance industries. INVESTMENTNEWS WEALTH PROFESSIONAL james.burton@keymedia.com T +1 416 644 8740

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Copyright is reserved throughout. No part of this publication can be reproduced in whole or part without the express permission of the editor. Contributions are invited, but copies of work should be kept, as the magazine can accept no responsibility for loss.

10/1/2026 3:15:16 AM

UPFRONT

EDITORIAL

A KM Business Information Canada publication

benefitsandpensionsmonitor.com

Don’t let patriotism cost us public goods

ISSUE 36.04 EDITORIAL Managing Editor James Burton

SALES & MARKETING Vice President, Global Sales (Wealth) Abhiram Prabhu

Managing Editor, Special Reports Chris Sweeney

Publisher Michael Hughes

Senior Editor David Kitai

CORPORATE

Senior Journalist Josh Welsh Senior Writer, Special Reports Kim Champion Senior Sponsored Content Writer Manal Ali Production Editors Tara Tovell, Christina Jelinek, Karen Atienza, Allison Ingusan

ART & PRODUCTION Vice President, Production Monica Lalisan Creative Director Marla Morelos Designers Joenel Salvador, Aira Olgado, JP Dizon, Noel Avendano Production Coordinators Kat Guzman, Loiza Razon Project Management Specialist Gail Baes

President Tim Duce Chief Human Resources Officer Julia Bookallil Chief Revenue Officer Dane Taylor Chief Information Officer Terry Szames COO George Walmsley CEO Mike Shipley

EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Celine Chiovitti, OMERS Katie McNulty, CAAT Pension Plan Greg Hurst, Greg Hurst & Associates Jim Helik, James Helik Consulting Tim Clarke, tc Health Consulting Gavin Mosley, Mosley Group Benefits Joyce Hum, Neuberger Berman Anthony Spagnolo, Baillie Gifford

Editorial advisory board members meet informally and are consulted when appropriate to their areas of expertise, interest, or jurisdiction. The members bear no responsibility for the contents of the magazine.

EDITORIAL INQUIRIES

james.burton@keymedia.com

SUBSCRIPTION INQUIRIES

tel: 416 644 8740 • fax: 416 203 8940 subscriptions@keymedia.com

ADVERTISING INQUIRIES

Michael Hughes michael.hughes@keymedia.com

KM Business Information Canada Ltd. 317 Adelaide Street West, Suite 910, Toronto, ON M5V 1P9 tel: +1 416 644 8740 www.keymedia.com Canada • USA • UK• Australia • New Zealand • Philippines

Benefits & Pensions Monitor is part of an international family of B2B publications, websites, and events for the finance and insurance industries. WEALTH PROFESSIONAL

David Kitai, senior editor

james.burton@keymedia.com T +1 416 644 8740

INVESTMENTNEWS 2

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References: 1. Sanchez Bustillos A, et al. Work productivity among adults with varied Body Mass Index: Results from a Canadian population-based survey. J Epidemiol Glob Health. 2015;5(2):191-199. 2. Diabetes Canada. Reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes through workplace programs. 2022. Available at: https://www.diabetes.ca/ advocacy---policies/our-policy-positions/reducing-the-risk-of-type-2-diabetes-through-workplace-programs. Retrieved April 22, 2026. 3. IQVIA. Data on File. Wegovy® Global Experience. 2026. 4. IQVIA. Data on File. Ozempic® Global Experience. 2025. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Wegovy®, Novo Nordisk Care®, Ozempic®, FlexTouch®, and Apis Bull Design® are registered trademarks of Novo Nordisk A/S used under licence by Novo Nordisk Canada Inc. © Novo Nordisk Canada Inc www.novonordisk.ca CA26OZM00121

10/1/2026 3:15:20 AM

UPFRONT

STATISTICS MERIT BUDGETS FROZEN SINCE 2025 2025 actual

3.0% 2026 actual

PUBLIC PLANS GROW, PRIVATE PLANS SHRINK Public sector pension plans added nearly 157,900 active members in 2024 while private sector membership fell by 25,800. Defined benefit plans drove the private decline, shedding 21,300 members even as public sector plans expanded 4 percent.

3.0%

Public sector, all plan types

2027 planned

Private sector, defined benefit

Private sector, all plan types

Private sector, defined contribution

-25,800 MEMBERS (-0.8%), TOTAL BELOW 3.3 MILLION

-21,300 MEMBERS (-1.6%) -4,300 MEMBERS (-0.4%)

-40,000

20,000

3.0% Canadian merit budgets have not moved since 2025, holding at 3 percent for a third straight cycle. Employers are planning through economic uncertainty by repeating last year’s figure rather than adjusting it.

ZERO OF ELEVEN ON POLICY Shift reviewed 11 large Canadian pension managers and found not one with a publicly disclosed investment policy citing UNDRIP or free, prior, and informed consent. That includes CPPIB, a Crown corporation.

of 11 pension managers have a disclosed investment policy citing UNDRIP or FPIC

Managers reviewed include CPPIB, OTPP, OMERS, BCI, PSP Investments, AIMCo, La Caisse, OPTrust, IMCO, HOOPP, and the University Pension Plan

Source: July 2026 Mercer QuickPulse Canada Compensation Planning Survey, Mercer Canada, announced late August 2026. Source: Shift: Action for Pension Wealth and Planet Health, Indigenous Rights and Canadian Pension Funds, released August 18, 2026.

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CARE DELAYED, CARE SKIPPED Canadians rank appointment and emergency room waits far above geography as barriers to care. Long distances sit near the bottom of the list nationally, at less than a third of the top barrier.

+157,900 MEMBERS (+4.0%), TOTAL JUST OVER 4.0 MILLION

Long appointment waits

64% Emergency room waits

59% Shortage of specialists or doctors

43% Long distances

60,000

100,000

140,000

160,000

Distance ranks last nationally, but 36% of rural residents cite it.

18%

Employment growth 2023 to 2024: private sector +1.6%, public sector: +3.7%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

Source: Statistics Canada, Pension Plans in Canada Program (as of January 1, 2025); released July 28, 2026.

Source: The Care Radius Report, MedExpress Canada, published August 11, 2026.

NEW TARIFFS AFFECTING JOBS

HORMONE REPLACEMENT THERAPY CLAIMS UP 228%

Two of every five jobs at risk sit outside the tariffed sectors entirely. Truckers, wholesalers, and bookkeeping firms that never ship south account for 35,000 of the 87,000 total, which would lift unemployment to 6.8 percent.

HRT claims rose across every age band over five years, but growth among women aged 45 to 54 outpaced the next-highest group by more than threefold. Manulife reports the past two years drove most of it.

87,000 total

228%

250% 200%

52,000 DIRECT JOBS IN TARIFFED EXPORT SECTORS

35,000 INDIRECT JOBS AT SUPPLIERS AND SERVICE

100% 50%

trucking, wholesale, bookkeeping, logistics Unemployment rate 6.4% today, 6.8% if these losses land.

typical age of menopause

150%

66%

46% Ages 35 to 44

Ages 45 to 54

Ages 55 to 64

Source: Trevor Tombe, University of Calgary, analysis published in The Hub, August 20, 2026, built from Statistics Canada inputoutput data. Figures also reported by CBC News and CTV News, August 24, 2026.

Source: Manulife Canada Group Benefits claims data, five-year change, reported in Manulife news release, September 2, 2026..

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OPINION

PENSIONS

Building resilience in a changing world Long-term planning remains a defining feature of pension systems because certainty matters PENSION BOARDS today face the challenge of maintaining a steady course while adapting to a changing environment. Financial markets, workforce demographics, and employer needs continue to evolve, but successful pension plans do not respond with dramatic changes at every turn. Instead, they focus on understanding the broader landscape, assessing emerging risks and opportunities, and building the resilience needed to support members over the long term. For pension plans, certainty matters. Members and employers rely on the promise

of a stable, predictable pension, and maintaining that confidence requires disciplined decision-making. Long-term success is not about reacting to short-term market fluctuations. It is about ensuring plans can navigate uncertainty while continuing to deliver reliable benefits. Long-term planning remains a defining feature of pension systems. For large, multi-employer plans such as the Municipal Pension Plan (MPP), this means balancing stability with the ability to evolve as workplaces and demographics change.

MPP is approaching its 100th year of providing retirement security to British Columbians. For almost a century, the plan has navigated economic cycles, market volatility, demographic shifts, and changing workplaces while remaining focused on its long-term purpose. Today, the plan’s scale and maturity provide a strong foundation for continued resilience. This focus on resilience is also shaping how MPP thinks about growth. Pension plans cannot afford to assume that today’s conditions will remain unchanged. Preparing for

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However, scale alone is not enough. Strong governance remains critical to how pension plans make decisions and respond to change. MPP operates under a joint trusteeship model, where representatives of both plan members and plan employers share responsibility for overseeing plan administration and the investment of pension assets.

Looking ahead Resilience enables pension plans to provide certainty during market volatility by maintaining a long-term focus through diversified investments, strong governance, and thoughtful planning rather than reacting to short-term market movements. Building resilience is not a one-time effort. It requires ongoing focus

Building resilience is not a one-time effort. It requires ongoing focus and is reflected in the priorities shaping MPP’s future direction

the next century means paying attention to demographic, workforce, and economic trends and taking thoughtful action to address them. Growth, in this context, is not about change for the sake of change. It is about managing risk, strengthening sustainability, and ensuring the plan remains relevant for future generations. Maintaining broad participation and continuing to attract new members helps support the long-term health of the plan while reinforcing its role as an important retirement benefit for British Columbians.

Strength through scale and governance Scale continues to offer significant advantages. Larger pension plans can diversify investments more broadly, access a wider range of asset classes, and manage costs efficiently. These advantages contribute to long-term sustainability while helping plans respond effectively to emerging risks and opportunities.

This structure is designed to support balanced decision-making and ensure multiple perspectives are considered when making decisions in the long-term interests of members and employers. As pension plans face increasingly complex challenges, governance frameworks that encourage collaboration and accountability become even more important.

The value of diverse perspectives Diverse perspectives are an important part of resilient governance. Bringing together individuals with different experiences, expertise, and viewpoints can lead to stronger oversight and more informed decision-making. When combined with diversified investments and sound funding practices, effective governance helps pension plans adapt to changing conditions without losing sight of their core purpose. It provides the perspective needed to manage risk, evaluate opportunities, and maintain a longterm focus. For MPP, this approach helps ensure the plan can support members throughout their careers and into retirement while remaining responsive to changing needs.

and is reflected in the priorities shaping MPP’s future direction. These considerations are helping inform MPP’s 2027–2029 strategic plan and will continue to guide decision-making in a complex environment. Key priorities include growing the plan for the long term and strengthening the plan’s resilience through innovation, influence, and responsible investing leadership. Protecting members over the long term requires strong governance, resilience, and the ability to adapt. Together, these qualities help pension plans navigate change while providing certainty for members and employers. As MPP looks toward its second century, the focus remains on maintaining that balance of building resilience, managing risk, and continuing to deliver retirement security for generations to come.

Donna Lommer is chair of the Municipal Pension Board of Trustees. She has served since 2017. Donna also serves on the board of directors for BCI and has held board roles with several healthcare organizations. She holds an executive MBA and is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CGA).

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OPINION

INVESTMENTS

Stop mistaking interest-rate risk Understand what you own and why you own it, writes Kevin Foley TRY THIS. When you get stuck on the crossword, or a Sudoku, or the NYT Spelling Bee − stop. Put it down. Take a break. When you come back, as little as 10 or 15 minutes later, you almost always make immediate progress, or even finish quickly. Funny how that works. The answer was actually just … there. During that break you’re not solving anything. You’re just no longer staring at the wrong assumption. It’s freeing. A similar thing happens when you look away from yet another disappointing fixed income statement. Put it down. Take a break. When you come back, the assumption is easy to spot: interest-rate risk somehow became your default investment − a single, dominant return driver that hasn’t produced for a long time now, and isn’t poised to. It becomes fairly obvious that investments like investment grade credit and secured mortgages − differentiated return drivers − can improve the portfolio’s risk metrics and return expectations. Problem solved.

Why interest-rate risk stopped working The performance of the index, and the funds that replicate it, is dominated by interestrate risk. For decades, that risk came with an extraordinary tailwind: high starting yields followed by a long, almost uninterrupted decline in interest rates. That tailwind is gone. In the 1980s and 90s, bond yields were into the double digits. That income was a large cushion. Even when rates moved against a portfolio, coupon payments were big enough to absorb the hit and still deliver a positive return most years. Interest-rate risk was there

Interest-rate risk is too often mistaken as synonymous with fixed income, when it’s only one − albeit important − risk factor the whole time − the high income just covered it up. Today, Canadian bond yields sit around 3 to 3.75 percent. That’s higher than the 2020−21 lows near 1 to 1.5 percent, but nowhere close to the historical norm. The cushion is thin. A

rate move that used to get absorbed by coupon income now immediately impacts your return. Recent proof is 2022. The broad bond index had one of its worst years on record, almost entirely because rates spiked. Coupon income wasn’t close to enough to cover the loss.

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Why bonds are supposed to help Every portfolio likely needs some exposure to interest rates − often called duration risk. In the right circumstances, duration can provide return, and it can appreciate to offset falling stock prices. That is the textbook case for holding bonds. But that “right circumstances” part matters more than it used to. The hedge works best when the central bank has room, and reason, to cut rates − which is what happened in 2008 and 2020. Today the Bank of Canada’s overnight rate is 2.25 percent, with the bank itself flagging that inflation expectations remain elevated. There’s less room to cut than in past cycles, and less appetite to cut fast while inflation is still a concern. If the next downturn happens while inflation is still sticky, stocks and bonds can fall together − the pattern we saw in 2022.

The real problem Interest-rate risk is too often mistaken as synonymous with fixed income, when it’s only one − albeit important − risk factor. Fixed income returns can come from several sources. Interest rates are one. Credit spreads − the additional yield paid by companies over government bonds − are another. Mortgages and asset-backed securities add still other sources of income. They don’t behave the same, and that’s the point. For example, some investment grade credit funds now carry little to no interest-rate risk at all − a natural complement or substitute for a traditional bond fund. Once upon a time, and sadly still too often today, we were led to duration risk that was called broad fixed income, presented as the go-to solution. The broad fixed income premise still stands. But we now know to be careful to include much more than duration risk alone. The good news: newer fixed income solutions have developed, including many with long enough track records to analyze and gain real comfort in. Not all fixed income is created equal, and it’s no longer a check-box exercise. Ignorance is also no longer an excuse, since the coverage of the space and the product offerings have outgrown that. Put the statement down, take the break, come back and look again. Find the right fit. The assumption you were relying on wasn’t diversified fixed income, it was misplaced duration risk. The solution isn’t to ignore or abandon fixed income. It’s an opportunity to build it properly.

Kevin Foley is managing director, institutional accounts at YTM Capital, a Canadian asset manager specializing in credit and mortgage funds. He spent two decades trading and managing fixed income at a major Canadian bank and serves on several Canadian foundation boards and investment committees.

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10/1/2026 3:16:39 AM

PEOPLE

INDUSTRY ICON

INVESTMENTS

STRUCTURE SHARPENS TDAM’S INSTITUTIONAL EDGE TDAM’s David Sykes is reorganizing the firm around one principle: know the client better SEVERAL MONTHS into his tenure as CEO of TD Asset Management, David Sykes is pressing the firm to consolidate its institutional capabilities under a single roof and betting that a restructured distribution model will deepen relationships with pension plans, endowments, and DC sponsors across multiple geographies. Sykes, who took over on May 1 after 29 years at the firm, says the transition has been shaped less by a desire to overhaul than by an effort to sharpen focus. “Markets are never boring… Clients have lots of needs that we want to service, and we want to deepen those relationships. We want to make sure that we serve our clients in a faster, simpler way and ensure that our execution, on investment performance, investment excellence, and client servicing is very disciplined and focused,” says Sykes.

An umbrella investment solutions team According to Sykes, the most visible move so far has been the creation of an institutional

investment solutions team. The group brings asset allocation, asset liability management, portfolio construction, target date funds, and total portfolio solutions under one roof − capabilities that previously existed elsewhere, across different parts of the organization. Sykes underscores how it was a structural problem, not a capability gap.

equities, asset allocation, and private or alternative strategies, is already broad enough to meet institutional demand. While he doesn’t see a need for a major capability buildout, he does see room for targeted additions where and when gaps emerge. The priority, as he frames it, is deploying what TDAM already has rather than racing to add new products.

“Clients have lots of needs that we want to service, and we want to deepen those relationships” “We’ve always had the institutional solutions group capabilities internally. We just haven’t had them aligned necessarily under one leader,” he says. “This is one team who can talk to clients to say, listen, we want to understand your balance sheet, we want to understand your constraints, we want to think about your governance realities, investment objectives.” To that end, Sykes argues the firm’s existing investment lineup, which spans fixed income,

According to Sykes, TDAM has restructured its distribution model around regional proximity, placing dedicated leaders in Europe and Asia, and two in North America. This allows the firm to be in a market where leaders can read client needs earlier and anticipate problems before they escalate. Central leaders are tasked with pulling insights from those regional teams back into the organization

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PROFILE Name: David Sykes Title: CEO Company: TD Asset Management Years in industry: 29 Certifications: CFA Education: Bachelor of commerce, bachelor of arts from Saint Mary’s University; MA in politics, philosophy, and economics from Oxford University Birthplace: Nova Scotia The most meaningful change in your career: Technology. It provides instant information, data,

headlines, and news, which in turn offers instant access to trading and decisions on a global scale. What do you spend a lot of time thinking about? Lower future growth and lower earnings growth, globalization, de-globalization, and security Advice to industry professionals: Set an objective, a process to achieve it, and stick to it. Investing isn’t about today or next week; it’s about setting a goal and a plan to achieve that goal. Are you still a Toronto Maple Leafs fan? Following the ups and downs of the Leafs isn’t easy. It’s a tough town and it’s all about performance. I still have more confidence in the prospects for results at TDAM!

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PEOPLE

INDUSTRY ICON

so the full range of TDAM’s capabilities can be brought to bear. “I don’t see it as a competing issue,” he says. “I see it more as a cultural one where we have local leaders in market able to assess client needs very effectively at a deeper level. Because of our culture and strong collaboration, that will allow those local leaders to interact with our global leaders who bring it all together with an enterprise perspective.”

Institutional clients’ needs come first Moreover, Sykes places investment performance right alongside client needs as a foundational priority. The firm relies on its portfolio oversight and risk group to monitor whether managers are staying true to their stated processes and style mandates − a guardrail he considers essential to delivering on commitments. Rather than spreading resources thin, TDAM concentrates them where conviction and talent are strongest. That focus, in his view, is what builds durable track records across asset classes. As Canadian institutional investors are under pressure to access private markets, global credit, and alternative return streams, all while competitors are expanding aggressively, Sykes acknowledges the firm has been active in these spots, pointing to a modernized Canadian real estate portfolio that now offers co-investment and secondaries access. He also highlights the recently launched global private credit product and a commodities team that’s roughly two years old. But he frames the strategy in terms of discipline rather than ambition. “We ask ourselves a couple of questions: Is there a client need? Can we add value in that area, and can we scale it and see that it works for the long run?” he says.

Culture is TDAM’s asset management edge Ultimately, Sykes sees the firm’s culture − one he has experienced first-hand over 29 years − as the connective tissue holding the organization together, particularly as TDAM invests heavily in hiring practices, development, and mentoring. But he argues the real test is whether that talent operates as a unified whole rather than in silos. In practice, culture at TDAM is reinforced through daily routines and structured touchpoints. Investment teams and partners across the firm gather each morning to discuss market developments, but Sykes says the formal agenda is secondary.

“Investment excellence is everything, but we also want people to come to work every day believing in what they do” “The real magic happens when that meeting is over. People come together physically, and the collision moments where people interact and want to discuss something is really important,” he says. Beyond the daily cadence, the firm runs employee appreciation weeks, team-level offsites, and an annual organization-wide gathering − each designed to reinforce a set of operating values centred on investment performance, client outcomes, and long-term career development.

TDAM BY THE NUMBERS Founded: 1987 334 investment professionals at the firm $223.7B in institutional assets managed $136.3B in DB assets $8.4B in endowment and foundation assets Ranked #1 Canadian institutional asset and DB pension manager “Investment excellence is everything, but we also want to do that in a manner where people come to work every day believing in what they do, believing that we’re solving problems for clients and really understanding that they can grow and develop long-term careers here. We need to create one team because that one team can bring unified solutions to clients,” he says, adding that means bringing product, risk, distribution, operations, and investment teams together early so that clients experience a single institutional perspective rather than a fragmented one. After all, Sykes underscores that candid feedback and partnerships built on trust are central to the firm’s strategy going forward, as he emphasizes, “partnerships are a two-way street.” “We love to hear [from our clients], where are we strong? Where are we doing well? Where do you feel we’re not? How can we improve? How do we act on that? It’s really about that interaction model. When you build that trust, you get relevant feedback from them, and that’s the standard that we want to hold ourselves to,” says Sykes.

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SPECIAL REPORT

2026 Meet BPM’s Rising Stars 2026, whose

CONTENTS

specialized expertise is making an impact

Feature article ................................................. 14

across the industry

Methodology ................................................... 15

PAGE

Rising Stars 2026 .......................................... 22

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SPECIAL REPORT

RISING STARS 2026

DIAMONDS IN THE ROUGH DIAMONDS FORM under pressure, and this year, so did Canada’s brightest young talent in benefits, pensions, and institutional investment. Employers across the industry report they cannot find the people they need: only 5 percent say they have enough skilled staff and headcount to execute their priority projects, even as 58 percent plan to hire more before the year is out, according to Robert Half Canada’s July 2026 survey. Amid that shortage, this year’s Benefits and Pensions Monitor’s Rising Stars 2026 – the top benefits, pensions, and institutional investment professionals 40 and under in Canada – didn’t wait for the gap to close. They

stepped up and shone through. One winner took over a municipal pension fund’s portfolio and pushed its performance into the top quartile against comparable funds, adding tens of millions of dollars in value along the way. Another led the rollout of defined benefit coverage to roughly 1,500 workers who had never had access to a plan like it before. A third helped launch an entirely new institutional bond strategy from scratch, while elsewhere in the cohort, a pension actuary was quietly governing the finances behind 10 separate pension and benefit boards at once. These are not stories of people waiting their turn. They are proof that pressure,

BPM’s Rising Stars 2026 at a glance

Key insights

Traits winners say matter most for advancement, out of 5 Hard work and emotional intelligence

5/5 Loyalty to one employer

2.91/5 1.42-point drop from 4.33 in 2025

in the right hands, produces exactly what the industry says it struggles to find. That breadth of expertise is exactly what the industry now expects. “A rising star today is someone who combines deep technical competence with the ability to operate in a world of accelerating complexity,” says Dawn Jia, president and CEO of UBC Investment Management in Vancouver, British Columbia. The 22 professionals honoured were chosen from nominations submitted by companies across the country starting in May 2026, judged against a 40-and-under age cutoff and a demonstrated commitment to the industry. They are not necessarily the youngest people in the room; they are the ones who came to this industry with hard-won expertise built elsewhere, whether in institutional portfolio management, pension governance, or benefits consulting, and paired it with the two traits winners rated as most important above all others: hard work and emotional intelligence. In an industry short on specialized talent, that combination is what stood out.

The sharpest swing of any trait tracked in this year’s survey

22 professionals honoured in BPM’s second annual Rising Stars report

10%

18%

share of winners with over 16 years of experience, up sharply year over year

5% of employers have enough skilled staff and headcount, even as 58% plan to hire before year’s end

Source: BPM Rising Stars 2025 and 2026 winner survey and submission data, Key Media

Why industry experience, not tenure, defines today’s Rising Stars Canadian benefits, pensions, and institutional investment employers are looking beyond tenure when assessing talent. According to Robert Half Canada’s July 2026 survey, 53 percent of Canadian employers

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say specialized skills, rather than seniority, are what they value most when hiring. Technical expertise, industry-specific knowledge, and leadership ability now rank as the three hardest qualities to find in a candidate, a gap that is reshaping who gets recognized as a rising talent in benefits and pensions. Chris Gory, employee benefits advisor at Orchard Benefits in Toronto and a 31-year veteran of the insurance and benefits industry who runs the Slack channels for the Canadian Group Insurance Brokers (CGIB) and the Benefits Alliance, says today’s standout professionals share the singular trait of focus. “If they’re really going to be a rising star, they’re going to get involved in the community,” he says. “They’re going to focus on one segment and get involved, not just learn from people but also give back.” Gory points to advisors who build their entire book around a single niche – tech companies, law firms, accounting practices – as the ones who win instant credibility with clients. “You get instant credibility,” he says. “It becomes so easy to open doors in that sense.” That focus on specialization echoes what BPM has previously reported on Canadian employers struggling to hire, as skill gaps widen across the industry more broadly.

What BPM’s data shows The clearest story in this two-year comparison isn’t about who’s fastest; it’s about who’s most seasoned. The share of Rising Stars winners with 16 or more years in the industry jumped from 10 percent of the 2025 cohort to 18 percent in 2026, an 80 percent relative increase, while winners with just 1–5 years of experience shrank from 20 percent to 9 percent. The 2026 Rising Star looks less like a fast-tracked 20-something and more like someone who has built real depth, often somewhere else, before landing at the firm that nominated them. That shift lines up almost perfectly with the ratings data. “A long career at the same

employer” fell from 4.33 to 2.91 in importance, a 1.42-point drop and by far the sharpest swing of any trait measured, while hard work and EQ stayed at or near a perfect 5.00 in both years. Loyalty to one employer is being displaced as a marker of a rising star; hard work and emotional intelligence are what’s actually driving recognition. UBC Investment Management president and CEO Jia sees that rating as more than a soft preference. “EQ is not a soft skill; it is a discipline, and it develops through deliberate practice and honest feedback,” she says.

Why this tracks with the broader market This isn’t happening in a vacuum. That same Robert Half research points to a deeper shortage behind the headline hiring numbers, with only 5 percent of leaders reporting the necessary headcount and skill sets to accomplish priority projects this year. As that gap widens, employers are leaning harder on outside expertise rather than internal tenure to fill it. Put plainly, the data suggests BPM ’s Rising Stars are increasingly people who pivoted into the industry with hard-won experience elsewhere, exactly the kind of specialized, adaptable talent employers say they’re struggling to find and are now actively recruiting for.

Meet BPM’s Rising Stars 2026, the top professionals under 40 in Canada Kate Finkler-Kemeny Vice President, Portfolio Management, BGO

Kate Finkler-Kemeny found her way into institutional real estate through an unconventional route. A bachelor of applied science in geological engineering and a master of urban planning with a real estate focus put her closer to fieldwork and city building than to a finance classroom, and that technical

METHODOLOGY To uncover the most promising young professionals in the Canadian benefits, pensions, and institutional investments industry, Benefits and Pensions Monitor undertook a rigorous marketing and survey process, leveraging its connections to thousands of readers across the country. Starting in May, companies were given the opportunity to nominate professionals for consideration based on their performance and achievements over the past 12 months. To be eligible, nominees had to be age 40 or younger (as of September 30, 2026) and working in a role that relates to, interacts with, or impacts the industry. When reviewing the nominations, BPM concentrated on those who have committed to a career in the industry and clearly hold a passion for benefits, pensions, and institutional investments. After reviewing all the nominations, the BPM team whittled down the list to 22 deserving winners for the second annual Rising Stars.

foundation still shapes how she works today as vice president, portfolio management at BGO in British Columbia. Before joining BGO, Finkler-Kemeny built her early career at private real estate investment and development firms in Toronto, working with managers who recognized her strengths and gave her opportunities to try new things before she felt ready. That early trust accelerated her growth and helped her identify the parts of the profession she enjoyed most. Over time, she became increasingly intentional about building a career in the institutional investor landscape. That transition was not instant. In her early meetings, Finkler-Kemeny remembers sitting through conversations where colleagues seemed to speak a different language – acronyms, fund mechanics, and concepts in economics and institutional

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RISING STARS 2026

“People remember when you make an effort to meet them where they are” Kate Finkler-Kemeny, BGO

real estate that she was only beginning to grasp. “I had a strong analytical background, but I started to realize that understanding an investment from a portfolio management perspective was very different from understanding just the little pieces in isolation,” she says. Her engineering instinct pushed her to ask basic questions, write down anything she did not understand, and trace numbers back to their source rather than simply accepting them, a habit she still keeps today. That same instinct now drives how she rebuilds the systems around her. Investor and portfolio reporting once lived across dozens of scattered spreadsheets, meaning reports were pulled together largely by hand, work that ate into the time she would rather spend interpreting the numbers than cutting and pasting them. Finkler-Kemeny has been leading a shift toward standardized, systematic data, migrating reporting to Power BI and refining the underlying Excel models so the team can spend less time assembling information and more time analyzing it. She has brought that same willingness to work outside her comfort zone to her role as the Western Canadian point of contact for the fund’s investor base and presenting to Quebec investors in French. It is not her first language, and she is candid that nerves are part of the process. “There’s always a moment before I start where I’m very almost hyper-aware of how much I’m operating outside my comfort zone,” she says. “I’m usually shaking.” What she has found, after over a dozen French presentations, is that clients respond to the effort itself. Simon Holmes, chief investment officer in Canada at BGO, credits Finkler-Kemeny

with a rare combination of rigour and initiative. “She consistently produces valuable, additive work without being asked, anticipating what the team needs and delivering it before the ask is made,” he says. Finkler-Kemeny wants to keep building at the intersection of portfolio strategy, investor relationships, and capital raising, translating complex analysis into narratives that resonate with clients. Her engineering-shaped curiosity, driven by a need to close knowledge gaps, has become the trait she now leans on most.

Q&A with Kate Finkler-Kemeny Q: Curiosity keeps coming up as your defining trait. Was there a question you asked early on that ended up changing how you saw the job or one a colleague later told you was the right one to ask? A: I can’t think of one defining moment, because curiosity has been so consistent throughout my career. Early on, I sometimes worried a question was too basic, but I learned that asking why we do something, where a metric came from, or whether an approach is actually the best way gets to the root of an issue. Those questions have helped me identify processes, improve reporting, and rethink how we communicate. They’ve also changed how I approach portfolio management. I used to think being good at the job meant knowing the answer. Now I think it means knowing what to ask and where to poke holes – and that’s even more important than having a good answer. Q: When you took on all that extra responsibility after your colleague left, what had to give? How did you figure out what could wait? A: That period taught me quickly that

Rising Stars 2026 are increasingly seasoned, not just fast-tracked

What BPM’s data shows

Comparing the winner cohorts of BPM’s second annual Rising Stars report against its inaugural 2025 class reveals a workforce leaning more on outside experience than employer loyalty. The share of Rising Stars winners with 16 or more years in the industry climbed from 10% of the 2025 cohort to 18% in 2026, an 80% relative increase, while winners with just 1–5 years of industry experience fell from 20% to 9% over the same period.

+80%

Importance of “a long career at the same employer” as a Rising Star trait (average rating out of 5)

4.33

2025

2.91

2026

–1.42 points – the sharpest swing of any rated trait

Years in the industry, by cohort 2025 · 1–5 years

20%

2026 · 1–5 years

2025 · 16+ years

10%

2026 · 16+ years

18%

The rookie share shrank while the veteran share grew – a mirror-image shift.

Hard work and EQ hold steady at the top Hard work

5.00

Mgmt training

3.67

Hard work rated 5.00 in 2026, up from 4.67 in 2025; EQ held at a perfect 5.00 both years, unmoved even as employer loyalty fell.

Source: BPM Rising Stars 2025 and 2026 winner survey data, Key Media. Methodology: 2025 reflects BPM’s inaugural Rising Stars cohort of 20 self-nominated winners; 2026 reflects the second annual cohort of 22 self-nominated winners. Each year represents a different self-nominated winner pool, not a longitudinal survey of the same individuals.

taking on more responsibility doesn’t just mean a longer list of things to do. When my colleague left, maintaining continuity for our investors was the priority. Portfolio decisions and reporting deadlines were non-negotiable, while some meetings had to be shortened and nice-to-have projects moved down the list. I became more deliberate about distinguishing what was genuinely important from what was simply urgent. Earlier in my career, my instinct was to take ownership by doing everything myself. This experience showed me that leadership is also about creating clarity when you’re overwhelmed, raising your

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hand, and trusting colleagues to share the load when appropriate. It was an uncomfortable and demanding period, but it accelerated my development more than anything else in my career. Prioritization became less about doing everything and more about figuring out what mattered most.

“Life has this weird way of being fairly balanced in the long run. For me, helping others is an efficient way to fill my cup” Jon Knowles, Fidelity Investments

Jon Knowles Institutional Portfolio Manager, Fidelity Investments

Jon Knowles has quietly wrestled with imposter syndrome, and he has come to see that as part of the job rather than something to outgrow. “Three years ago, when I stepped into my current role, there was a sense of imposter syndrome,” he says. “Three years in, that can still be a mental hurdle to overcome and perhaps one that will never fully go away, but if the ambition is to help others, then you need to spend less time focusing on yourself anyway.” That instinct to focus his energy outward rather than inward has only deepened since becoming a new father, an experience that has him thinking often about what kind of world he wants to help build. Reflecting on the podcasts and nonfiction he gravitated toward during the pandemic, Knowles noticed a pattern among the leaders he considered genuinely successful and content. “They appear to have always positioned themselves in this outward fashion, doing for others without any expectation or belief that they need to receive,” he says. Knowles is candid that the alternative, a transactional approach to a career, is a short-term view. “You can miss the forest for the trees when you are focused on extracting something from each interaction,” he adds. Knowles’ work on Canadian target date strategies has coincided with a period of substantial growth at Fidelity, which now manages more than $32 billion in Canadian target date assets. Since he joined

the ClearPath franchise as an investment analyst, assets have grown by $24.9 billion, a 351 percent cumulative increase. He has helped guide plan sponsors through glidepath design, risk management, and decision-making anchored in member outcomes. His tenure has been marked by volatility and a heightened focus on retirement readiness, with colleagues crediting his work with deepening client confidence and retention. That outward focus extends well beyond the scope of his work. For eight years, Knowles has spearheaded Fidelity Canada’s team in the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation’s Ride to Conquer Cancer, a two-day, 220-kilometre ride that has raised more than $430,000 for cancer research. One rider has stayed with him in particular, a former colleague who joined the ride in 2023 while in the midst of a serious cancer battle of their own. “He had every reason to be sad, upset, and angry, whatever negative emotion you want to say, but he was just having a great time learning other people’s stories, laughing, and chit-chatting,” Knowles says. “There was a lot of wisdom in the way that he was acting. I’ll always think fondly about him and his energy during the ride.” That same instinct to show up for people, informally mentoring less experienced colleagues and stepping forward on cross-functional projects, defines how he operates day to day.

Q&A with Jon Knowles Q: Looking back at moving from advisor sales into portfolio management, what’s

something you had to unlearn or let go of the status quo on to make that shift work? A: When I entered investment management, I thought I had to do things differently because it seemed like a very different world. But after being in the role for a while, I’ve realized it’s not that dissimilar. We have different rules and tools, but the core objective is the same: being the best partners and providing exceptional service to our clients. My different career trajectory has given me experiences that are relatable and translatable to what I do today. I’ve seen different approaches across teams and departments, and I think that cumulative experience and perspective can bring valuable diversification to a team. Q: Open-mindedness comes up as your biggest driver of growth. Can you think of a time you tried something new on the ClearPath side that felt uncomfortable at first, and how did that turn out? A: When I came into this role three years ago, ClearPath was already a strong, successful, and stable franchise, so we focused on modest, incremental changes rather than wholesale ones. We experimented with our messaging and presentations, adding new content, dropping old content, and listening more closely to what customers actually cared about. The new approach worked well initially, but then we got ahead of ourselves and tried to jump straight to the end state. It resulted in possibly the worst presentation I’ve ever given. We learned quickly, reversed course, and recalibrated. That’s what open-mindedness means to me: being willing to take small, incremental

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SPECIAL REPORT

RISING STARS 2026

“In a union space, employers take their hats off at the table, and every decision is made for the member. I really love that approach to benefits” Heather Macartney, Belmont Health and Wealth (The JDB Group) chances while recognizing when things have gone too far. There are reasons things are done the way they are, but sometimes it’s simply because they haven’t been challenged. Challenging them can yield great results.

Heather Macartney Senior Benefits Consultant, Belmont Health and Wealth (The JDB Group)

Heather Macartney has spent the past year rebuilding how trustees and stakeholders interact with some of the most complex benefit structures in the industry. As senior benefits consultant at Belmont Health and Wealth, she led the adoption of a governance board portal with union clients choosing to transition to the model, replacing a fragmented system built on email exchanges with one that gives trustees safe, organized, direct access to their own information. The need became clear early in her role, when she found herself fielding a steady stream of ad hoc trustee questions that a shared portal could answer instead. Privacy and security were also key drivers. Trustees serve various terms and regularly cycle on and off boards; Macartney recognized the importance of ensuring sensitive member and financial information remained within a secure, centralized system rather than residing in the personal email accounts of individual trustees. “Being able to control that access was extremely important,” she says. “That was a really big win for Belmont and for the trustees.”

The initiative sits squarely in Macartney’s specialty, supporting complex, multiemployer union benefit plans that require coordination across boards of trustees, union representatives, and participating employers. She interprets plan texts and collective bargaining agreements, resolves eligibility and coverage issues that can span multiple employers or periods of employment, and analyzes claims utilization and plan performance to help trustees make sustainable, well-informed decisions. Macartney has also played a key role in modernizing outdated contracts across the business, work she traces back to the same instinct that shaped the portal project. “Early on at Belmont, the only way I could understand what was really happening was to peel back all the layers,” she says. “Why is this happening? What needs to happen next? I’ve carried that approach into everything I do. I want to understand the full picture, but just as importantly, my job is to make it clear and easy to understand for someone who isn’t immersed in this world.” Ron Cluett, chief operating officer at Belmont Health and Wealth, points to that same reliability as her defining trait. “Heather is an exceptional employee benefits consultant who consistently delivers outstanding service to both clients and colleagues,” he says. “She has a remarkable ability to educate clients on complex benefits solutions in a clear and approachable manner, helping organizations make confident decisions.” Macartney’s path into this work was not a plan so much as an opening she said

Canadian employers are hiring, but specialized experience is what they can’t find

Market context

Third-party hiring data shows why industry-specific expertise, not tenure, is opening doors for benefits and pensions professionals right now.

58%

58% of Canadian employers plan to increase permanent hiring in the second half of 2026, and 53% say specialized skills, not seniority or tenure, are the attribute they value most when hiring.

What Canadian hiring managers say is hardest to find in a candidate Technical or specialized skills 48% Industry-specific knowledge 47% Leadership abilities 41% Source: Robert Half Canada, “Nearly 6 in 10 Canadian employers plan to increase hiring before end of 2026,” survey of more than 1,360 Canadian hiring managers conducted by an independent research firm in April 2026, published July 29, 2026.

yes to. Fresh out of university and working a recruitment job she did not love, she knew people in the insurance industry who seemed to be having a far better time of it. When a position opened at Great West Life, a company then actively recruiting and training young salespeople straight out of school, she applied. “I went out to Winnipeg for a month and sat in a classroom and learned renewal methodology, sales techniques, and how to manage a block of business. I found all of my training in this industry came from the industry.” Nobody in her university business classes had ever mentioned insurance as a career path, she says, but she found the benefits side of the business genuinely interesting, and she kept at it until she found her niche. Outside her day-to-day role, Macartney has spent eight years on the board of the Saint John Family Resource Centre, an organization supporting young children aged zero to five and families, serving most recently as chair before her term concluded in June 2026. She has also earned her Certified Employee Benefit Specialist (CEBS) designation, along with an Advanced Trust Management A credential

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through the International Foundation of Employee Benefits. Macartney strives to bring greater clarity, consistency, and long-term financial stability to multi-employer and union-sponsored plans, structures she sees as highly nuanced. She is also committed to mentoring and supporting the next generation of professionals in the industry.

Q&A with Heather Macartney Q: You’ve been on the Saint John Family Resource Centre board for eight years now and chair more recently. Has anything from that experience shaped how you lead at work? A: My eight years with the Family Resource Centre taught me a lot about leadership and governance, particularly the importance of succession planning and continuity. Good governance isn’t just about making decisions; it’s about ensuring the people who come after you have the information and context they need to make good ones. I’ve brought lessons from the trust and union space around governance, continuity, and working with different perspectives to the Resource Centre, while my experience there has made me a better leader at work. It also reinforced the importance of community and giving people the tools and support they need to succeed. Q: Is there something about multi-employer and union plans that you find yourself explaining again and again, something you wish more people in the industry just understood? A: A lot of people don’t understand this business. In the multi-employer and union space, you’re balancing the rules of the plan with the perspectives of trustees and many other voices around the table. What I wish more people understood is how impressed I am with the trustees who make these decisions. They’re focused on doing what’s in the best interest of the member, which is very different from a corporate plan, where a leader determines what’s best for the company.

Benefits costs and investment appetite are both climbing in 2026 The next 12–24 months will test the same specialized expertise this year’s Rising Stars have already built. On the benefits side, Canadian employers are facing an average medical trend rate of 8.3 percent in 2026, up from 7.4 percent in 2025, according to Aon’s Global Medical Trend Rates Report 2026. “As employer-sponsored medical plans continue to represent a significant portion of overall rewards investment, the need for effective cost management has never been greater,” says Kathryn Davis, global benefits vice president at Aon. Part of Canada’s increase traces back to US trade policy. Isabel Boyer, vice president at Aon, says 2025 US tariffs on pharmaceutical imports are driving up procurement costs and heightening the risk of drug shortages. That pressure will keep demanding attention from consultants and plan administrators who understand cost containment and plan design. On the institutional investment side, Canadian investors are leaning into two factors above all others heading into 2026, technological change and private markets, at 83 percent and 81 percent, respectively, according to Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan’s Global Investor Sentiment 2026 survey, a shift that builds on BPM’s earlier coverage of Ottawa urging pension funds to prioritize domestic investments. That volatility is already reshaping what’s expected of early-career professionals. Jia says, “They are navigating a more volatile investment environment than most of their managers trained in, which demands resilience and adaptability.” Canadian investors are also increasingly looking closer to home, with interest in domestic investment opportunities jumping 24 points year over year, one of the sharpest shifts recorded anywhere in the survey.

INSIGHTS As part of our editorial process, Benefits and Pensions Monitor’s researchers interviewed the subject matter experts below for their independent analysis of this report and its findings. Chris Gory

Employee Benefits Advisor Orchard Benefits

Dawn Jia

President and Chief Executive Officer UBC Investment Management

That comes as a federal initiative announced in Canada’s 2025 budget through the Business Development Bank of Canada pushes pension funds to weigh larger allocations to Canadian assets, a dynamic Canadian pension plan administrators will be actively assessing through 2026. Winners who have already proven they can govern multiple pension boards at once, launch new institutional strategies, or manage claims pressure for large plan sponsors are well positioned for what comes next. The specialized, cross-functional expertise that set this year’s cohort apart is precisely what the benefits, pensions, and institutional investment space will need more of as costs shift and portfolios evolve.

Expert insights What Chris Gory sees defining today’s Rising Stars Few people have watched Canada’s benefits and insurance industry evolve as closely as Chris Gory at Orchard Benefits in Toronto. BPM spoke with him about what separates a rising star in 2026, the pressures facing professionals pivoting into the industry mid-career, and what he believes the industry still needs to build to support the next generation. Q: How would you define a rising star in the Canadian benefits and pension space in 2026, and how has that definition evolved from previous years?

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RISING STARS 2026

Canadian medical plan costs are climbing faster into 2026

Market context

Aon’s global data shows Canada’s benefits cost trend accelerating, with tariffs on pharmaceutical imports adding new pressure.

8.3%

Canadian benefits plan sponsors are facing an average medical trend rate of 8.3% in 2026, up from 7.4% in 2025, still below the 9.8% global average but climbing faster than it has in years.

2026 medical trend rate, Canada vs North America vs global

8.3%

Canada, 2026 North America, 2026

9.3%

Global average, 2026

9.8%

Canada’s trend is accelerating 2025 2026

TARIFF PRESSURE 7.4% 8.3%

A 0.9-point year-over-year jump, even as the global rate eased slightly to 9.8 percent, its first dip below double digits in three years.

What’s driving Canada’s increase “While it’s hard to quantify precisely, we believe these tariffs are increasing procurement costs for certain drugs in Canada and heightening the risk of shortages” – Isabel Boyer, Aon

Source: Aon, “Global Medical Trend Rates Report 2026,” analysis of plan sponsor data across 112 countries, published October 2025.

A: I think the big thing for a rising star this year is being really immersed in the industry and clearly defining the part of it they want to work in. I see new people asking questions, but what stands out is when they’re also giving feedback and coming up with creative ways to do things. As the industry becomes more commoditized, rising stars are under pressure not only to learn and give back but also to grow and maintain their business. They’re finding new ways to market to their peers, including platforms like Instagram and TikTok, while continuing to build their expertise. Q: What pressures are early-career professionals facing beyond finding creative ways to reach their target audience? A: Many people pivot into insurance later in their careers, so they’re learning something new while juggling families and busy personal lives. They’re also under pressure to get immersed in the industry and find ways to stand out.

The benefits space is particularly competitive because people can operate independently with relatively few clients. Unlike other areas of insurance, there isn’t the same level of consolidation, so early-career professionals are really under pressure to learn and differentiate themselves. Q: What can the industry do to better support early-career professionals? A: There needs to be more structured training and mentorship. Some newer professionals have created peer networks to keep each other accountable, but I’d like to see more structured programs where three people under 40 can work with one or two experienced mentors who can advise them. There’s a real opportunity for associations and industry organizations to create mentorship and peer-sharing programs that help people learn from one another. Q: What advice would you give younger professionals who want to develop relationship skills and emotional intelligence

alongside their technical expertise? A: Number one, identify the area you want to work in, whether that’s benefits or pensions, and find a niche. Focus your marketing on one industry, get involved in its events, meet the decision-makers, and understand their pain points. I’ve focused on tech companies for 22 years, and most of my 125 clients are in that space. I’m a big advocate for finding your niche and immersing yourself in it. Even if you’re new to benefits, you can draw on an industry you already know and build from there.

What Dawn Jia sees defining today’s rising stars BPM asked Jia about the shifting expectations placed on early-career professionals, where the industry still falls short in giving younger talent a platform, and what it actually takes to build the trust and emotional intelligence senior roles demand. Q: How would you define a Rising Star in the benefits and pensions space in 2026, and how has that definition shifted from previous years? A: What has also shifted is the expectation around purpose. The best young professionals I see are not just technically strong; they genuinely care about the end beneficiary. In the pension space, that means understanding that today’s decisions affect the retirement security of real people decades from now. That long-term orientation, combined with intellectual curiosity and humility, is what I would call a Rising Star in 2026. Q: Do you think under-40 professionals are given enough platform and opportunity to succeed in this industry? Are there any policies or programs you think would help them succeed professionally? A: Honestly, our industry has room to do better. The pensions and benefits space tends to be relationship-driven and credential-heavy, which can slow the path for talented younger professionals who haven’t

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yet had time to build those networks. What I’ve found effective is creating deliberate exposure – bringing younger team members into board presentations, committee discussions, and external manager meetings early. Observation can accelerate development in ways structured training cannot. I’d also advocate for genuinely two-way mentorship, with senior leaders learning from younger colleagues on technology, data, and emerging risks. Industry associations could also create more visible platforms for under-40 voices, including substantive speaking opportunities and working groups where their contributions shape real outcomes. Q: What advice would you give young benefits and pensions professionals looking to fast-track into strategic or leadershipfacing roles? A: Three things stand out. First, develop a point of view. Leaders are expected to have informed opinions, not just analysis, so practice forming and defending a position early in your career. Second, understand the governance layer of the industry – how boards think, what keeps trustees up at night, and how decisions actually get made. Technical excellence alone won’t get you into strategic roles; you also need to understand the human and institutional dynamics around the table. Third, be genuinely curious beyond your immediate remit. The best investment professionals I know read widely because markets and pension systems are ultimately shaped by human behaviour, not just financial models. Q: Given how much weight the industry places on EQ, trust, and relationship skills, how do younger professionals develop that alongside technical expertise? A: I would encourage young professionals to seek out uncomfortable situations – presenting to a skeptical audience, delivering difficult news, or navigating a disagreement with a senior colleague. Those experiences build relational skills far

Canadian investors are betting on technology and private markets in 2026

Market context

Ontario Teachers’ Global Investor Sentiment 2026 survey shows tech change and private markets leading Canada’s favourable investment factors.

+83%

83% of Canadian investors view technological change as favourable heading into 2026, the single highest-rated factor in Canada, ahead of private markets, macroeconomic conditions, and regulation.

Favourable investment factors for 2026, Canada Technological change

83%

Private markets

81%

Overall environment

75%

Regulatory environment

75%

Geopolitical environment

71%

Macroeconomic factors

69%

HOME MARKET SHIFT

Energy transition appetite in Canada

Canadian investors looking closer to home 2025

45%

2026

69%

Interest in investing at home jumped 24 points year over year, one of the largest shifts of any market surveyed.

2025

71%

2026

87%

A 16-point increase, part of a broader global rise in investor appetite for climate tech, EVs, and critical minerals.

Source: Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, “Global Investor Sentiment 2026,” Ipsos survey of 1,270 global investors across nine markets, fieldwork conducted September 2 to October 8, 2025, published December 2025.

faster than any training program. Trust is built through consistency over time: doing what you say you will do, being transparent when things go wrong, and putting the interests of the fund and its beneficiaries above your own. Younger professionals sometimes underestimate how closely senior leaders and board members are watching for those qualities, even in small moments.

What sets BPM’s Rising Stars 2026 apart from the rest What defines the top benefits, pensions, and institutional investment professionals under 40 in Canada this year is not speed, but depth. Across the cohort, specialized expertise built outside a single career path, in institutional portfolio management, pension governance, benefits consulting, and beyond, mattered more than years

spent at one employer. Curiosity showed up again and again, in a willingness to ask basic questions, to present in an unfamiliar language, and to unpeel complex plan structures layer by layer. Hard work and emotional intelligence were rated as the two most important traits for advancement, a finding borne out in how these winners actually operate, taking on more responsibility during periods of transition, mentoring colleagues, and building the kind of trust that turns technical skill into influence. In an industry short on specialized talent, that combination – hard-won expertise paired with genuine curiosity and emotional intelligence – is what separated this year’s winners from the rest of the field. As Jia puts it, “The long game is worth playing.”

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SPECIAL REPORT

RISING STARS 2026

2026 Jon Knowles Institutional Portfolio Manager Fidelity Investments Website: institutional.fidelity.ca/en

Kate Finkler-Kemeny Vice President, Portfolio Management BGO

Website: bgo.com

Heather Macartney Senior Benefits Consultant Belmont Health and Wealth (The JDB Group) Phone: 506 645 1386 Email: hmacartney@gobelmont.ca Website: jdbgroup.ca Amanda Alexander Manager, Pension Administration Provident10 Amy Hamilton Associate Director, Pensions Eckler Diana Daly Senior Manager, Benefits Program Service Delivery IGM Financial Filip Curovic Principal Doane Grant Thornton LLP Hanna Karman Executive Board Advisor Plannera Pensions and Benefits Jenifer Elmy Counsel Prescient Compensation Law

Jennifer De Moura Benefits Consultant Gallagher Jessica Kim Pensions and Benefits Associate Lawson Lundell LLP Joe Stagliano Portfolio Manager City of Edmonton John Glynn President Ascent Insurance Services Jordan Ross Head of Fund Management ACM Advisors Karl Gagné Head of Institutional Business Development, Eastern Canada Jarislowsky Fraser Kyle McFadyen Senior Employee Benefits Consultant HUB International Larissa Bayet Product Specialist Saskatchewan Blue Cross Lexi Wang Pension and Benefits Specialist Simon Fraser University Miranda McLean Senior Pension Solutions Specialist CAAT Pension Plan Sam Beales President and Founder Benefluent Advisory Samantha Brands Senior Account Executive Canada Life Zachary Barsky Director of Institutional Solutions RPI

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FEATURES

INVESTING MONEY MANAGERS ANNUAL REPORT

Does ownership structure shape investment philosophy? CC&L Financial Group and Leith Wheeler operate under different models of independence but agree that ownership drives how managers serve plan sponsors CANADA’S INSTITUTIONAL asset management landscape is dominated by bank- and insurer-owned firms with quarterly earnings calls, public shareholders, and the gravitational pull of short-term results. The independent firms that operate outside that orbit, however, insist that their ownership structures produce different behaviour, not just different branding. But how that plays out in practice depends on which model of independence a firm has chosen. In the case of Connor, Clark & Lunn Financial Group (CC&L) and Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel, both firms are privately held and employee owned. Beyond that, however, they look nothing alike.

Different structures, same principle Operating under one investment philosophy since 1982, Leith Wheeler is a single firm, 100 percent owned by the people who work there or are selling their shares down in retirement, whereas CC&L runs a multiaffiliate structure where each team is a distinct, separately regulated business co-owned by its investment professionals and the financial group. “We’re in an intellectual capital business, and the way to win in an intellectual capital business is to get great people into the firm and for them to stick around over the long term and build businesses,” says Michael Walsh,

president and managing director of CC&L, adding that ownership is the mechanism. “Someone who joins us has the potential to become an owner, and that’s intrinsically motivating. It also gets people focused on creating long-term value.” Perry Teperson, managing principal and portfolio manager of institutional clients at Leith Wheeler, agrees that ownership is the anchor, though his firm’s version is structurally simpler. “To be an owner at Leith Wheeler, to be a shareholder, to be part of our business, you need to buy into the way we manage money and have a long-term focus,” he says.

Both firms argue that private ownership removes the pressure to optimize for quarterly performance. They also emphasize that this pressure distorts investment decisions. Walsh argues that ownership aligns the firm’s incentives with the multi-year horizons institutional clients invest over. “It’s something that you can only realize over time and creates an incentive for business building, not just short-term profitability,” he says. “You look across the industry, and there’s lots of great asset managers in different ownership models. This is just the way that we achieve that objective of getting great people into the firm.”

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FEATURES

INVESTING

BEHIND THE SCENES What ownership looks like at CC&L and Leith Wheeler

At CC&L 125 people own equity in the affiliate in which they work CC&L itself has 230 shareholders

At Leith Wheeler 88 current employees, 12 retired (currently in the process of selling down stakes) 120 active employees in the firm

Teperson acknowledges that while conviction in a philosophy is necessary for long-term success, evolving is also important as client needs do change. About a decade ago, Leith Wheeler recognized the growing demand for private assets like infrastructure and real estate, particularly among balanced mandate clients looking to manage portfolio volatility. Rather than building that capability in-house, the firm partnered with established alternative managers and created options for clients, including infrastructure and a diversified private asset fund. Independence also allows Leith Wheeler to hold positions that diverge from the benchmark without pressure to close that gap for the sake of short-term optics. He argues that looking different from the index is a prerequisite for adding value − a portfolio that mirrors its benchmark will, by definition, deliver a benchmark result.

Benchmark risk versus client risk

Retirees sell 10% of their shares back to the firm each year for 10 years Source: CC&L and Leith Wheeler, internal data.

“The way to win in an intellectual capital business is to get great people into the firm and for them to stick around” Michael Walsh, CC&L Similarly, Teperson underscores the strong alignment between the way Leith Wheeler manages their portfolios and the way the firm manages their own business. “Both of those have a very long-term focus, rather than a quarter-by-quarter focus,” he says, noting the firm evaluates its own results over the long term and applies

the same lens to the companies it invests in, looking out three to five years and sometimes holding names over multiple decades. “By doing so, you make, in our opinion, better long-term decisions, and you don’t react to short-term noise, which could be the very worst thing to do when you’re dealing with short-term volatility,” he says.

That divergence, however, will at times mean periods of short-term underperformance that require explanation to boards of trustees who are looking at recent results. He draws a distinction between tracking error, which he calls a business risk for the investment manager, and the risk that actually matters to a pension board: whether the plan can meet its long-term actuarial goals, typically expressed as an absolute return target or an inflation-plus hurdle. Beating a negative benchmark by a small margin does nothing for a plan that is still far from its primary return target. Teperson contends that an outside owner focused on quarterly business results may not tolerate those periods of short-term deviation, and that pressure can push portfolio construction toward the benchmark, reducing the manager’s business risk while compromising the client’s long-term outcome. For Connor, Clark & Lunn, the firm’s independence removes the accountability to an external owner that can compress

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10/1/2026 3:17:46 AM

HEAD TO HEAD: CC&L VS. LEITH WHEELER

CC&L

Leith Wheeler

Founded: 1982

Established: 1982

Ownership structure: Principals, 100%

Canadian DB plan sponsors: 274

Canadian DB plan sponsors: 51

Canadian DC plan sponsors: 25

Canadian DC plan sponsors: 18

Total pension assets managed: $59,948.20M

Total pension assets managed: $13,279.91M Source: CC&L and Leith Wheeler, submitted data.

“We have to explain to clients that patience will be rewarded and pay off in the future” Perry Teperson, Leith Wheeler decision-making into short cycles. Each affiliate is a separate business with its own philosophy, research, and portfolio management, co-owned by the senior investment professionals who work there and the financial group. That means the organization is not tied to a single investment approach because each team defines its own. Ownership, in Walsh’s framing, is designed to stretch incentives across careers rather than calendar quarters. “Our decisions are made with that view in mind − delivering on client needs over the long term to achieve business success and build ownership value, not for an annual bonus or to meet a quarterly earnings target,” he says. Still, Walsh underscores that the affiliate structure has implications as each affiliate is

a distinct, separately regulated business with its own brand and culture, which means the financial group cannot run a firm-wide initiative through authority alone; it requires buy-in from every team. While affiliates can and do make different choices about investment philosophy and business objectives, Walsh suggests that managing those relationships to meet everyone’s needs makes his job harder. When it comes to succession planning, he argues the model creates a built-in incentive that many asset managers lack. Because affiliate leaders can extract their capital value only over time − through internally financed buy− sell transactions after retirement − they have a direct financial reason to develop a next gener-

ation capable of sustaining the business and buying them out. Walsh sees this as operating on two levels: leadership succession, covering both business and investment management, and ownership succession, where equity transfers gradually to the people coming behind.

Does ownership deliver better outcomes? For plan sponsors, the practical question is whether these ownership arrangements translate into better service. Walsh acknowledges CC&L’s multi-affiliate model has created friction. Historically, a plan sponsor working with multiple CC&L teams held separate relationships with each, and the financial group had limited visibility into cross-sale opportunities. Additionally, without a branch network, banking relationships, or captive distribution, the firm has no built-in pipeline. “We have to win every mandate on merit through a consultant search or a direct process. And we have no other business line to subsidize from, which means every relationship has to stand on its own,” he notes, adding that CC&L One, a multi-asset solution for small and mid-sized institutions, is the firm’s response. Still, Teperson underscored that there have been successful and unsuccessful firms across every ownership model. What he does claim, though, is that independence reduces uncertainty. For example, he highlights how an outside owner could introduce variables a plan sponsor can’t predict. That owner could also reshape the firm’s culture, alter outcomes, or drive away professionals who joined an employee-owned firm and have no interest in working for someone else. “There’s a higher level of certainty that the DNA, the culture, the philosophy that was built at a firm like Leith Wheeler ought to continue, because generation through generation, we spend a lot of time making sure that we stay true to our philosophy,” he says.

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MONEY MANAGERS DIRECTORY

ADDENDA CAPITAL INC. Contact: Janick Boudreau, CFA Executive Vice-President, Business Development and Client Partnerships Address: 800 René-Lévesque Blvd. W., Suite 2800, Montréal, QC, H3B 1X9 PH: 514-908-1989 Fax: 514-287-7200 Email: j.boudreau@addendacapital.com Website: https://www.addendacapital.com/ Ownership structure: Principals, 4.3%; third party, 95.7% (Co-operators Financial Services Limited is the principal shareholder and owns 95.7%; Addenda employees own 4.3%) Investment professionals: 72 Established: 1985 Minimum investment: Pooled, $5M; separate, $20M Manager style: Size bias – large cap; style bias – core Management style: Active; fixed income; bond – duration; equities – core, concentrated, climate transition growth; bond management – impact, credit, core, active duration Services to DC pension plan clients: Investment management Investment AUM for Canadian clients: DB pension, $4,751.5M; DC pension, $2,047.2M; foundation & not-for-profit, $1,569.0M; private client, $3,902.3M; total, $39,000.6M; others, $26,730.6M (insurance, other institutional, thirdparty mutual funds) Canadian plan sponsors (DB): 28 Balanced account assets: Segregated, $1.5M; total, $1.5M Canadian fixed income specialist assets: Pooled, $254.9M; segregated, $1,664.7M; total, $1,919.6M Other asset classes: Commercial mortgages, LDI, $2,830.4M Pension fund AUM for Canadian DB plans: Active, $4,741.9M; passive, $9.6M; total, $4,751.5M Canadian plan sponsors (DC): 23 DC pension plan AUM for Canadian plan sponsors: DC pension, $1,197.9M; other, $849.4M; total, $2,047.3M Total pension assets (DB & DC) managed for Canadian clients: $6,798.7M

AMUNDI CANADA INC. Contact: Tanya Bishop Senior Director, Sales & Client Relationships Address: 2000 avenue McGill College, Montréal, QC, H3A 3H3 PH: 514-244-0197 Email: tanya.bishop@amundi.com Website: https://www.amundi.ca/professional Ownership structure: Principals, 68.35%; publicly held, 26.98%; third party, 4.68% (employees and treasury shares) Investment professionals: 5,400+ Established: 2010 Minimum investment: Pooled, $5M; separate, $100M Manager style: Size bias – all cap Other management styles: Style bias – all; fixed income – all; bond – all Services to DC pension plan clients: Order reception and transmission; portfolio management; investment advice Investment AUM for Canadian clients: DB pension, $7,967M; DC pension, $414M; pension assets managed for other managers, $8M; foundation & not-for-profit, $137M; private client, $3M; retail mutual funds (direct), $6,707M; total, $15,884M; others, $647M Canadian plan sponsors (DB): 14 Balanced account assets: Pooled, $899M; segregated, $6,869M; total, $7,768M Canadian equity specialist assets: Pooled, $301M; total, $301M Global equity specialist assets for global mandates: Segregated, $1,666M; total, $1,666M Other asset classes: Real estate, $165M; currency overlay, $5,107M; EM equity, $485M Pension fund AUM for Canadian DB plans: Active, $6,082M; passive, $1,686M; total, $7,668M Canadian plan sponsors (DC): 3 DC pension plan AUM for Canadian plan sponsors: DC pension, $54M; other, $360M; total, $414M Total pension assets (DB & DC) managed for Canadian clients: $8,381M

BGO Contact: Yvonne Davidson Managing Director, CRIR Address: One York St., Toronto, ON, M5J 0B6 PH: 416-681-3400 Email: yvonne.davidson@bgo.com Website: https://bgo.com/ Ownership structure: Principals, 22%; publicly held, 78% (BGO is a part of SLC Management (SLC), the alternative asset management business of Sun Life Financial Inc. (Sun Life). Sun Life controls SLC Management, with senior leaders of SLC Management owning up to 25% of the economic interest in SLC Management. Sun Life is headquartered in Canada. No individual owns more than 10% of SLC Management.) Investment professionals: 78 (Canada); 277 (globally) Established: 1911 Minimum investment: Pooled, $1M Manager style: Size bias – all cap; style bias – core Management style: Active Services to DC pension plan clients: Real estate investment management, portfolio construction and management, investment underwriting and execution, active asset management, risk and performance monitoring, fund accounting, financial reporting, client communications, and investor reporting Investment AUM for Canadian clients: DB pension, $7,393M; DC pension, $195M; foundation & not-for-profit, $926M; total, $29,454M; others, $20,940M (corporations and governments, $20,386M; other institutional clients, $554M) Canadian plan sponsors (DB): 73 Other asset classes: Real estate, $7,393M Pension fund AUM for Canadian DB plans: Active, $7,393M; total, $7,393M Canadian plan sponsors (DC): 2 DC pension plan AUM for Canadian plan sponsors: DC pension, $195M; total, $195M Total pension assets (DB & DC) managed for Canadian clients: $7,588M

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MONEY MANAGERS DIRECTORY

BEUTEL, GOODMAN & COMPANY LTD. Contact: Kimberley Woolverton Managing Director, Head of Institutional Address: 2000-20 Eglinton Avenue West, Toronto, ON, M4R 1K8 PH: 416-545-5367 ext. 367 Fax: 416-485-8516 Email: kwoolverton@beutelgoodman.com Website: https://www.beutelgoodman.com/ Ownership structure: Principals, 51%; third party, 49% (Affiliated Managers Group, Inc. indirectly holds a minority non-controlling interest) Investment professionals: 26 Established: 1967 Minimum investment: Pooled, $10M; separate, $25M Manager style: Size bias – large cap; style bias – value Management style: Active; fixed income; bond – yield curve Other management styles: Fixed income process incorporates duration, yield curve positioning, credit sector allocation, and security selection Services to DC pension plan clients: Investment management Investment AUM for Canadian clients: DB pension, $7,294M; DC pension, $12,686M; pension assets managed for other managers, $2,576M (sub-advised); foundation & not-forprofit, $1,618M; private client, $4,523M; retail mutual funds (direct), $2,198M; total, $42,519M; others, $11,624M (SMA, corporate, insurance general fund) Canadian plan sponsors (DB): 35 Balanced account assets: Pooled, $855M; segregated, $310M; total, $1,164M Canadian equity specialist assets: Pooled, $575M; segregated, $1,472M; total, $2,047M Canadian fixed income specialist assets: Pooled, $1,815M; segregated, $1,167M; total, $2,982M US equity specialist assets: Pooled, $258M; segregated, $548M; total, $806M Global equity specialist assets for global mandates: Pooled, $1,226M; total, $1,226M

Global equity specialist assets for EAFE mandates: Pooled, $37M; segregated, $40M; total, $77M Other asset classes: Cash & short-term securities, $158M Pension fund AUM for Canadian DB plans: Active, $7,294M; total, $7,294M Canadian plan sponsors (DC): 11 DC pension plan AUM for Canadian plan sponsors: DC pension, $12,686M; total, $12,686M Total pension assets (DB & DC) managed for Canadian clients: $19,980M

BURGUNDY ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD. Contact: Mike Sandrasagra Vice President, Global Head of Consultant Relations Address: 181 Bay St., Suite 4510, Toronto, ON, M5J 2T3 PH: 416-869-3222 Fax: 416-869-1700 Email: msandrasagra@burgundyasset.com Website: https://burgundyasset.com Ownership structure: Third party, 100% (Bank of Montreal) Investment professionals: 26 Established: 1990 Minimum investment: Pooled, $5M; separate, $10M Manager style: Size bias – all cap; style bias – value Management style: Active; fixed income; bond – credit Services to DC pension plan clients: Investment management services Investment AUM for Canadian clients: DB pension, $3,879M; DC pension, $131M; foundation & not-for-profit, $2,315M; private client, $13,200M; total, $23,914M; others (corporations, sub-advisory, union/multiemployer, healthcare, insurance) Canadian plan sponsors (DB): 48 Balanced account assets: Pooled, $743M; segregated, $526M; total, $1,269M Canadian equity specialist assets: Pooled,

$146M; total, $146M Canadian fixed income specialist assets: Pooled, $5M; total, $5M US equity specialist assets: Pooled, $4M; segregated, $1,596M; total, $1,600M Global equity specialist assets for global mandates: Pooled, $416M; segregated, $312M; total, $728M Global equity specialist assets for EAFE mandates: Pooled, $98M; total, $98M Other asset classes: $33M Pension fund AUM for Canadian DB plans: Active, $3,879M; total, $3,879M Canadian plan sponsors (DC): 7 DC pension plan AUM for Canadian plan sponsors: DC pension, $131M; total, $131M Total pension assets (DB & DC) managed for Canadian clients: $4,011M

CANSO INVESTMENT COUNSEL LTD. Contact: Jason Davis Portfolio Manager, Vice President, Client Service & Marketing Address: 500-100 York Boulevard, Richmond Hill, ON, L4B 1J8 PH: 905-881-8853 Fax: 905-881-1466 Email: clientservice@cansofunds.com Website: https://cansofunds.com Ownership structure: Principals, 100% Investment professionals: 34 Established: 1997 Minimum investment: Pooled, $10M; separate, $250M Management style: Credit analysis; bottom-up fundamental security selection Services to DC pension plan clients: Portfolio management services Investment AUM for Canadian clients: DB pension, $11,227.24M; DC pension, $60.02M; foundation & not-for-profit, $1,113.55M; private client, $519.06M; total, $66,286.41M; others, $53,366.54M Canadian plan sponsors (DB): 22 segregated mandates Canadian fixed income specialist assets:

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MONEY MANAGERS DIRECTORY

Pooled, $3,199.17M; segregated, $8,088.09M; total, $11,287.26M Canadian plan sponsors (DC): 1 segregated mandate DC pension plan AUM for Canadian plan sponsors: DC pension, $60.02M; total, $60.02M Total pension assets (DB & DC) managed for Canadian clients: $11,287.26M

CAPITAL GROUP CANADA Contact: Mike Tuira Vice-President, Institutional Address: Brookfield Place, 181 Bay St., Suite 3100, Toronto, ON, M5J 2T3 PH: 416-815-2128 Email: mike.tuira@capgroup.com Website: www.capitalgroup.com/institutions/ ca/en Ownership structure: Principals, 100% Investment professionals: 490 Established: 1931 Minimum investment: Pooled, $15M; separate, $120M (subject to account details) Manager style: Size bias – all cap; style bias – core Management style: Active; fixed income; bond – credit Services to DC pension plan clients: Provide recordkeeper daily pricing feed, recordkeeper/ DC plan sponsor fund data, and commentary for fund data pages Investment AUM for Canadian clients: DB pension, $140M; DC pension, $1,033M; foundation & not-for-profit, $234M; retail mutual funds (direct), $20,684M; total, $29,876M; others, $6,867M (sub-advisory & SMAs) and $918M (ETFs) Canadian plan sponsors (DB): 2 Global equity specialist assets for global mandates: Pooled, $140M Pension fund AUM for Canadian DB plans: Active, $140M; total, $140M Canadian plan sponsors (DC): 7 DC pension plan AUM for Canadian plan sponsors: DC pension, $1,033M; total, $1,033M Total pension assets (DB & DC) managed for Canadian clients: $1,173M

Total pension assets (DB & DC) managed for Canadian clients: $47,555.88M

CIBC GLOBAL ASSET MANAGEMENT Contact: Carlo DiLalla, CFA Managing Director and Head, Institutional Asset Management Address: 141 Bay Street, 18th Floor, Toronto, ON, M5J 0G3 PH: 365-996-2865 Email: carlo.dilalla@cibc.com Website: https://www.cibc.com/en/ gam-institutional.html Ownership structure: Third party, 100% (member of the CIBC Group) Investment professionals: 115 Established: 1972 Minimum investment: Pooled, $10M; separate, $25M Manager style: Size bias – small, mid, large and all cap; style bias – value, growth Services to DC pension plan clients: Investment management Investment AUM for Canadian clients: DB pension, $46,970.87M; DC pension, $585.01M; foundation & not-for-profit, $745.83M; private client, $4,350.50M; retail mutual funds (direct), $183,343.91M; others, $76,554.93M Canadian plan sponsors (DB): 43 Balanced account assets: Pooled, $19.42M; segregated, $83.84M; total, $103.26M Canadian equity specialist assets: Pooled, $7.55M; segregated, $0.015M; total, $7.565M Canadian fixed income specialist assets: Pooled, $2,936.88M; segregated, $14,889.70M; total, $17,826.57M US equity specialist assets: Pooled, $203.98M; segregated, $8,387.38M; total, $8,591.36M Global equity specialist assets for global mandates: Pooled, $60.43M; total, $60.43M Global equity specialist assets for EAFE mandates: Pooled, $9.82M; total, $9.82M Other asset classes: Currency overlay, $19,093.09M; other, $1,278.77M Pension fund AUM for Canadian DB plans: Active, $8,556.83M; passive, $38,414.04M; total, $46,970.87M Canadian plan sponsors (DC): 3 DC pension plan AUM for Canadian plan sponsors: DC pension, $585.01M

CONNOR, CLARK & LUNN FINANCIAL GROUP LTD. Contact: Jean-Philippe Lemay Managing Director, Head of Institutional Sales, Global Address: 1800 McGill College Avenue, Suite 1300, Montreal, QC, H3A 3J6 PH: 514-287-0110 Fax: 514-287-9176 Email: jplemay@cclgroup.com Website: https://www.cclgroup.com Ownership structure: Principals, 100% Investment professionals: 319 Established: 1982 Minimum investment: Pooled, $1M; separate, $5M Manager style: Size bias – all cap; style bias – core Management style: Active; fixed income; bond – duration Other management styles: Growth and value styles; bond management incorporates duration, credit, and yield curve Services to DC pension plan clients: CAP services, investment management, and client service Investment AUM for Canadian clients: DB pension, $35,201.90M; DC pension, $18,746.30M; foundation & not-for-profit, $6,003.90M; private client, $21,952.90M; retail mutual funds (direct), $1,780.40M; total, $147,827.60M; others, $64,142.20M Canadian plan sponsors (DB): 274 Balanced account assets: Pooled, $3,189.40M; segregated, $21.20M; total, $3,210.60M Canadian equity specialist assets: Pooled, $2,605.90M; segregated, $4,118.20M; total, $6,724.10M Canadian fixed income specialist assets: Pooled, $1,258.90M; segregated, $3,033.90M; total, $4,292.80M US equity specialist assets: Available upon request Global equity specialist assets for global mandates: Pooled, $5,286.50M; segregated, $703.40M; total, $5,989.90M Global equity specialist assets for EAFE mandates: Pooled, $397.20M; segregated, $1,028.30M; total, $1,425.50M

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MONEY MANAGERS DIRECTORY

Other asset classes: Real estate, $3,805.40M; infrastructure, $792.00M; high-yield bonds, $16.60M; hedge funds, $7,552.50M; other, $1,392.40M Pension fund AUM for Canadian DB plans: Active, $35,201.90M; total, $35,201.90M Canadian plan sponsors (DC): 25 DC pension plan AUM for Canadian plan sponsors: DC pension, $18,581.10M; group RRSP, $165.20M; total, $18,746.30M Total pension assets (DB & DC) managed for Canadian clients: $53,948.20M

Canadian plan sponsors (DB): 2 Canadian equity specialist assets: Pooled, $0M; segregated, $1M; total, $1M Canadian fixed income specialist assets: Segregated, $10,028M; total, $10,028M Other asset classes: Infrastructure, $3,183M Pension fund AUM for Canadian DB plans: Active, $13,212M; total, $13,212M Canadian plan sponsors (DC): 3 DC pension plan AUM for Canadian plan sponsors: DC pension, $120M Total pension assets (DB & DC) managed for Canadian clients: $13,332M

DESJARDINS GLOBAL ASSET MANAGEMENT Contact: Natalie Bisaillon Managing Director and Chief of Institutional Client Relations Address: 1, Complexe Desjardins, 20th Floor, South Tower, Montreal, QC, H5B 1B2 PH: 514-214-5742 Fax: 514-281-7253 Email: natalie.bisaillon@desjardins.com Website: https://www.desjardins.com/dgam Ownership structure: Third party, 100% (direct subsidiary of Desjardins Financial Corporation, ultimately owned by Fédération des Caisses Desjardins du Québec) Investment professionals: 104 Established: 1998 Minimum investment: Pooled, $5M; separate, $10M Manager style: Size bias – large cap; style bias – core Management style: Active; fixed income; bond – duration Other management styles: LDI, market neutral, TAA overlay, smart beta, multi-factor, ESG, infrastructure Services to DC pension plan clients: Investment solutions for DC programs offered primarily on the Desjardins DC platform Investment AUM for Canadian clients: DB pension, $13,212M; DC pension, $120M; foundation & not-for-profit, $110M; retail mutual funds (direct), $58,254M; total, $141,282M

FIERA CAPITAL CORPORATION Contact: Sarah Aves Head of Institutional Clients Address: 1981 McGill College Avenue, Suite 1500, Montreal, QC, H3A 0H5 PH: 514-954-3300 Fax: 514-954-9692 Email: saves@fieracapital.com Website: https://www.fieracapital.com Ownership structure: Principals, 20%; publicly held, 80% Investment professionals: 215 Established: 2003 Minimum investment: Pooled, $5M; separate, $20M Manager style: Size bias – large cap; style bias – GARP Management style: Active; fixed income; bond – credit Other management styles: Diversified public markets fixed income platform incorporating bottom-up credit selection, duration positioning, yield-curve positioning, overlays, US credit, and high yield Services to DC pension plan clients: Investment management, portfolio construction, risk management, tactical asset allocation, sustainable investing solutions, asset allocation guidance, IPS support, ESG guidance, and customized reporting Investment AUM for Canadian clients: DB pension, $23,292.46M; DC pension, $9,341.26M; pension assets managed for other managers, $3,716.64M; foundation & not-for-profit, $15,018.81M; private client, $26,593.67M; retail mutual funds

(direct), $18,215.04M; total, $112,571.63M; others, $16,393.75M Total pension assets (DB & DC) managed for Canadian clients: $32,633.72M

FOYSTON, GORDON & PAYNE INC. Contact: Gabriel Lopezpineda Senior Vice President & Client Relationship Manager, Head of Institutional Address: 1 Adelaide Street East, Suite 2600, Toronto, ON, M5C 2V9 PH: 416-848-1948 Fax: 416-367-1183 Email: glopezpineda@foyston.com Website: https://www.foyston.com Ownership structure: Principals, 43%; third party, 57% (Affiliated Managers Group, Inc.) Investment professionals: 21 Established: 1980 Minimum investment: Pooled, $5M; separate, strategy dependent Manager style: Size bias – small cap, large cap, all cap; style bias – value Management style: Active; fixed income Bond management style: Duration; credit Services to DC pension plan clients: Investment management Investment AUM for Canadian clients: DB pension, $2,163M; DC pension, $211M; foundation & not-for-profit, $313M; private client, $3,641M; retail mutual funds (direct), $265M; total, $7,914M; others, $1,321M (Indigenous communities, governments, and corporations) Canadian plan sponsors (DB): 14 Balanced account assets: Pooled, $378M; segregated, $397M; total, $775M Canadian equity specialist assets: Pooled, $7M; segregated, $1,207M; total, $1,214M Canadian fixed income specialist assets: Pooled, $174M; total, $174M Pension fund AUM for Canadian DB plans: Active, $2,163M; total, $2,163M Canadian plan sponsors (DC): 6 DC pension plan AUM for Canadian plan sponsors: Total, $211M Total pension assets (DB & DC) managed for Canadian clients: $2,374M

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MONEY MANAGERS DIRECTORY

Active, $10,101M; total, $10,101M Canadian plan sponsors (DC): 13 DC pension plan AUM for Canadian plan sponsors: DC pension, $4,180M; total, $4,180M Total pension assets (DB & DC) managed for Canadian clients: $14,281M FRANKLIN TEMPLETON Contact: Dennis Tew Head of Sales, Canada Address: 200 King St. W., Suite 1400, Toronto, ON, M5H 3T4 PH: 416-957-6023 Email: dennis.tew@franklintempleton.ca Website: https://www.franklintempleton.ca Ownership structure: Principals, 36%; publicly held, 64% Investment professionals: 1,500 Established: 1947 Minimum investment: Pooled, $1M; separate, $20M–$250M (depending on mandate) Management style: Active; passive; index Other management styles: Size bias – large cap, mid cap, small cap, all cap; style bias – value, growth, GARP, core; bond management style – duration, credit, yield curve Services to DC pension plan clients: Investment management, OCIO, SIP&P/IPS construction Investment AUM for Canadian clients: DB pension, $10,101M; DC pension, $4,180M; foundation & not-for-profit, $1,298M; private client, $1,529M; retail mutual funds (direct), $17,253M; total, $62,186M; others, $29,825M Canadian plan sponsors (DB): 81 Balanced account assets: Pooled, $642M; segregated, $829M; total, $1,471M Canadian equity specialist assets: Pooled, $846M; segregated, $388M; total, $1,234M Canadian fixed income specialist assets: Pooled, $733M; total, $733M US equity specialist assets: Pooled, $18M; segregated, $79M; total, $97M Global equity specialist assets for global mandates: Pooled, $46M; segregated, $293M; total, $339M Global equity specialist assets for EAFE mandates: Pooled, $81M; segregated, $66M; total, $147M Other asset classes: Private equity, $1,260M; non-Canadian fixed income, $2,900M; real estate, $3,642M; infrastructure, $323M; other, $2,135M Pension fund AUM for Canadian DB plans:

HILLSDALE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. Contact: Harry Marmer EVP Address: 100 King Street West, Toronto, ON, M5X 1E4 PH: 416-913-3907 Email: hmarmer@hillsdaleinv.com Website: https://www.hillsdaleinv.com Ownership structure: Employee-driven and clientaligned investment boutique Investment professionals: 47 Established: 1996 Minimum investment: Pooled, $2M; separate, $25M Style bias: Core Management style: Active Other management styles: Bespoke investment mandates including ESG strategies Services to DC pension plan clients: Investment management; systematic and customized investment strategies including high-alpha, smart beta, and bespoke investment solutions Investment AUM for Canadian clients: , $2,002M; foundation & not-for-profit, $292M; private client, $261M; total, $11,159M; others, $5,991M Canadian plan sponsors (DB): 15 Canadian equity specialist assets: Pooled, $465M; segregated, $607M; total, $1,072M US equity specialist assets: Pooled, $94M; segregated, $206M; total, $300M Global equity specialist assets for global mandates: Pooled, $998M; total, $998M Pension fund AUM for Canadian DB plans: Active, $2,424M; total, $2,424M Canadian plan sponsors (DC): 1 DC pension plan AUM for Canadian plan sponsors: DC pension, $190M; total, $190M Total pension assets (DB & DC) managed for Canadian clients: $2,614M

JARISLOWSKY FRASER INSTITUTIONAL (1832 Asset Management L.P.) Contact: Institutional Business Development Dexton Blackstock – Central & Western Canada Karl W. Gagné – Eastern Canada Address: 40 Temperance Street, Suite 1800, Toronto, ON, M5H 0B4 PH: 1-800-736-8666 Fax: 416-363-8079 Email: info@jflglobal.com Website: www.jflglobal.com Ownership structure: Publicly held (wholly owned subsidiary of The Bank of Nova Scotia) Investment professionals: 56 Established: 1955 Minimum investment: Pooled, $1M; separate, $25M, $50M Manager style: Size bias – large cap; style bias – GARP Management style: Quality growth; ESG integration; active Other management styles: Core fixed income & credit Investment AUM for Canadian clients: Global AUM, $73,714M including $46B institutional Canadian plan sponsors (DB): 98 Balanced account assets: Total, $7,326M Canadian equity specialist assets: Total, $3,403M Canadian fixed income specialist assets: Total, $1,639M US equity specialist assets: Total, $63M Global equity specialist assets for global mandates: Total, $713M Pension fund AUM for Canadian DB plans: Total, $12,819M Canadian plan sponsors (DC): 21 DC pension plan AUM for Canadian plan sponsors: Total, $4,586M Total pension assets (DB & DC) managed for Canadian clients: $17,406M

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MONEY MANAGERS DIRECTORY

LEITH WHEELER INVESTMENT COUNSEL Contact: Gary Wong Principal Portfolio Manager Address: 400 Burrard Street, Vancouver, BC, V6C 3A6 PH: 604-683-3391 Email: garyw@leithwheeler.com Website: https://www.leithwheeler.com Ownership structure: Principals, 100% Investment professionals: 20 Established: 1982 Minimum investment: Pooled, $10M; separate, $50M Manager style: Size bias – all cap; style bias – value Management style: Active; fixed income Other management styles: Duration management, yield curve positioning, sector allocation, and security selection using top-down and bottom-up analysis Services to DC pension plan clients: Investment management, asset allocation, portfolio construction, security selection, risk management, equity, fixed income and multiasset mandates; pension committee support and IPS reviews Investment AUM for Canadian clients: DB pension, $9,262.03M; DC pension, $4,017.89M; pension assets managed for other managers, $531.33M; foundation & not-for-profit, $10,804.26M; private client, $5,538.20M; retail mutual funds (direct), $493.58M; total, $30,647.28M; others, $6,131.18M Canadian plan sponsors (DB): 51 Balanced account assets: Pooled, $3,443.02M; segregated, $2,315.87M; total, $5,758.89M Canadian equity specialist assets: Pooled, $928.52M; segregated, $1,769.99M; total, $2,698.50M Canadian fixed income specialist assets: Pooled, $230.84M; segregated, $213.48M; total, $444.32M US equity specialist assets: Pooled, $26.16M; total, $26.16M Global equity specialist assets for global mandates: Pooled, $1.68M; segregated,

$308.11M; total, $309.79M Global equity specialist assets for EAFE mandates: Pooled, $23.23M; total, $23.23M Pension fund AUM for Canadian DB plans: Active, $9,262.03M; total, $9,262.03M Canadian plan sponsors (DC): 18 DC pension plan AUM for Canadian plan sponsors: DC pension, $1,720.47M; other, $2,297.41M; total, $4,017.89M Total pension assets (DB & DC) managed for Canadian clients: $13,279.91M

MAWER INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LTD. Contact: Neeraj Jain Institutional Portfolio Manager Address: 79 Wellington Street West, TD South Tower, Suite 3410, Box 276, Toronto, ON, M5K 1J5 PH: 416-865-3929 Fax: 844-401-3738 Email: njain@mawer.com Website: https://www.mawer.com Ownership structure: Principals, 100% Investment professionals: 45 Established: 1974 Minimum investment: Pooled, $10M; separate, $50M Manager style: Size bias – all cap Management style: Active; fixed income Other management styles: Quality at the right price; bond management style includes duration, credit, and yield curve Services to DC pension plan clients: Investment management services, discussion papers, blogs, podcasts, and quarterly investment updates Investment AUM for Canadian clients: DB pension, $5,237.2M; DC pension, $6,668.5M; foundation & not-for-profit, $4,644.9M; private client, $13,782.8M; retail mutual funds (direct), $6,626.9M; total, $62,962.5M; others, $26,002.2M Canadian plan sponsors (DB): 63 Balanced account assets: Pooled, $586.3M; segregated, $0M; total, $586.3M Canadian equity specialist assets: Pooled, $473.1M; segregated, $72.1M; total, $545.2M Canadian fixed income specialist assets:

Pooled, $155.4M; segregated, $0M; total, $155.4M US equity specialist assets: Pooled, $91.6M; segregated, $32.5M; total, $124.1M Global equity specialist assets for global mandates: Pooled, $1,600.1M; segregated, $1,369.4M; total, $2,969.5M Global equity specialist assets for EAFE mandates: Pooled, $719.7M; segregated, $38.3M; total, $758.0M Other asset classes: Cash, $10.9M; non-Canadian fixed income, $9.6M; other, $78.2M Pension fund AUM for Canadian DB plans: Active, $5,237.2M; total, $5,237.2M Canadian plan sponsors (DC): 12 DC pension plan AUM for Canadian plan sponsors: DC pension, $6,668.5M; total, $6,668.5M Total pension assets (DB & DC) managed for Canadian clients: $11,905.7M

MFS INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT CANADA LIMITED Contact: Andrew Kitchen Senior Managing Director, Institutional Sales Address: 77 King St. W., 35th Floor, Toronto, ON, M5K 1B7 PH: 647-253-9162 Email: akitchen@mfs.com Website: https://www.mfs.com Ownership structure: Principals, up to 20%; third party, 80% (Sun Life Financial, Inc.) Investment professionals: 322 Established: 1924 Minimum investment: Separate, strategy dependent Manager style: Size bias – all cap; style bias – value, growth, GARP, core Management style: Active; fixed income Bond management style: Duration, credit, yield curve Services to DC pension plan clients: Asset management Investment AUM for Canadian clients: DB pension, $3,024.4M; DC pension, $17,855.1M; foundation & not-for-profit, $1,779.5M; total,

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MONEY MANAGERS DIRECTORY

$44,262.4M; others, $21,603.4M Canadian plan sponsors (DB): 30 Balanced account assets: Pooled, $414.0M; segregated, $205.4M; total, $619.4M Canadian equity specialist assets: Pooled, $126.2M; total, $126.2M Canadian fixed income specialist assets: Pooled, $752.1M; total, $752.1M Global equity specialist assets for global mandates: Pooled, $654.6M; segregated, $371.1M; total, $1,025.7M Global equity specialist assets for EAFE mandates: Pooled, $373.4M; segregated, $127.6M; total, $501.0M Pension fund AUM for Canadian DB plans: Active, $3,024.4M; total, $3,024.4M Canadian plan sponsors (DC): 9 DC pension plan AUM for Canadian plan sponsors: DC pension, $17,855.1M; total, $17,855.1M Total pension assets (DB & DC) managed for Canadian clients: $20,879.5M

PICTET ASSET MANAGEMENT Contact: François Forget Head of Distribution, Canada Address: 1000 de la Gauchetière Ouest, Suite 3100, Montreal, QC, H3B 4W5 PH: 514-518-8587 Email: fforget@pictet.com Website: https://www.am.pictet Ownership structure: Principals, 100% (held by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA, Geneva; Pictet Asset Management Holding SA is in turn ultimately owned by the seven managing partners of the Pictet Group. A further 42 senior executives, known as equity partners, hold equity in the Group. They each lead a strategically important function and play a central role in the development of Pictet. Elections are made every second year. Equity partners are chosen according to their current and prospective contribution to the Group and their respect for our values.) Investment professionals: 411

Established: 1980 (parent company established in 1805) Minimum investment: Pooled, $1.6M; separate, $50M Management style: Active Other management styles: Size and style vary with different strategies: Size bias – small cap, mid cap, large cap, all cap; equity style bias – growth, GARP, core; bond management style – duration, credit

PICTON INVESTMENTS Contact: Connor Haslip Vice President, Institutional Business Address: 33 Yonge Street, Suite 320, Toronto, ON, M5E 1G4 PH: 866-369-4108 Email: invest@pictoninvestments.com Website: https://www.pictoninvestments.com/ en Ownership structure: Principals, 100% Investment professionals: 60 Established: 2004 Minimum investment: Pooled, $10M; separate, $25M Manager style: Size bias – all cap; style bias – core Management style: Active; fixed income; bond – credit Other management styles: Alternative investment solutions; equity market neutral (Canadian & global), equity long/short (Canadian, US SMID, global), credit long/short, volatility management, diversified fund of funds, merger arbitrage Services to DC pension plan clients: Investment management, portfolio construction, investment counselling, and allocation collaboration Investment AUM for Canadian clients: DB pension, $2,297.25M; foundation & not-for-profit; retail mutual funds (direct), $11,939.3M; total, $19,309.85M Canadian plan sponsors (DB): 6 Canadian equity specialist assets: Total, $2,297.25M

Other asset classes: Hedge funds, $1,065.14M Pension fund AUM for Canadian DB plans: Total, $2,297.25M Total pension assets (DB & DC) managed for Canadian clients: $2,297.25M

QV INVESTORS INC. Contact: Darren Dansereau Chief Executive Officer Address: 222-3 Avenue SW, Suite 1008, Calgary, AB, T2P 0B4 PH: 403-265-7007 Fax: 403-266-6524 Email: ddansereau@qvinvestors.com Website: www.qvinvestors.com Ownership structure: Employees across all levels of the firm, 100% Investment professionals: 19 Established: 1996 Minimum investment: Pooled, $0.5M; separate, $10M Style bias: Value Management style: Active; fixed income Services to DC pension plan clients: Active discretionary investment management services Investment AUM for Canadian clients: DB pension, $807.45M; DC pension, $567.22M; foundation & not-for-profit, $24.63M; private client, $747.60M; retail mutual funds (direct), $3,272.46M;1 other, $696.16M (insurance & institutional corporate); total, $6,115.52M Canadian plan sponsors (DB): 6 Balanced account assets (Pension DB): Pooled, $141.02M Canadian equity specialist assets (Pension DB): Pooled, $286.38M; segregated, $380.05M; total, $666.43M Pension fund AUM for Canadian DB plans: Active, $807.45M Canadian plan sponsors (DC): 4 DC pension plan AUM for Canadian plan sponsors: DC pension, $567.22M Total pension assets (DB & DC) managed for Canadian clients: $1,374.67M 1 Assets we manage on behalf of mutual funds

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MONEY MANAGERS DIRECTORY

SETANTA ASSET MANAGEMENT Contact: Rocco Vessio Director Business Development Address: 190 Simcoe St., Toronto, ON, M5T 2W5 PH: 647-823-4813 Email: rocco.vessio@setanta-asset.com Website: setanta-asset.com Ownership structure: Publicly held, 100% Investment professionals: 17 Established: 1998 Manager style: Size bias – all cap; style bias – quality value Management style: Active Fixed income management style: Active Investment AUM for Canadian clients: Total, $3,714 Investment AUM for global clients: Total, $24,413M Global equity mandates: Total, $8,519M Global dividend mandates: Total, $2,247M EAFE equity mandates: Total, $1,810M Other equity: Total, $1,855M Other assets: $9,982M

SUN LIFE GLOBAL INVESTMENTS Contact: Anne Meloche Head of Institutional Business Address: 1 York Street, Toronto, ON, M5J 0B6 PH: 1-877-344-1434 Fax: 1-855-329-7544 Email: info@sunlifeglobalinvestments.com Website: https://www.slgiinstitutional.com/en/ Ownership structure: Publicly held, 100% Investment professionals: 16 Established: 2010 Management styles: All management styles available Services to DC pension plan clients: Full suite of funds, communications, education, and governance reporting Investment AUM for Canadian clients: DB

pension, $285M; DC pension, $27,248M; retail mutual funds (direct), $13,259M; total, $46,021M; others, $5,229M Canadian plan sponsors (DB): 83 Canadian plan sponsors (DC): 6,446 DC pension plan AUM for Canadian plan sponsors: DC pension, $8,662M; group RRSP, $1,462M; group DPSP, $1,858M; other, $15,567M; total, $27,549M Total pension assets (DB & DC) managed for Canadian clients: $46,021M

SLC MANAGEMENT Contact: Véronique Lauzière Senior Managing Director, Head of Canadian Business Development and Client Relationships Address: 1 York St., Suite 1100, Toronto, ON, M5J 0B6; 1155 rue Metcalfe, Montréal, QC, H3B 2V6 PH: 438-342-1226 Email: veronique.lauziere@slcmanagement.com Website: https://www.slcmanagement.com Ownership structure: Sun Life Capital Management (Canada) Inc., Sun Life Capital Management (U.S.) Ltd, Crescent Capital Group LP, and InfraRed Capital Partners are SLC Management companies that are indirect wholly owned subsidiaries of Sun Life Financial Inc., a publicly traded company listed on the Toronto (TSX), New York (NYSE), and Philippine (PSE) stock exchanges under the ticker symbol SLF. Investment professionals: 185 Established: 2013 Minimum investment: Pooled, varies by fund; separate, varies by mandate Management style: Active; fixed income; bond – credit Other management styles: Our primary source of value-add within our fixed income teams is credit analysis. We typically do not take active interest rate positions. Services to DC pension plan clients: Investment management services to defined contribution pension plans through Sun Life Assurance Co. of Canada’s Group Retirement Services Investment AUM for Canadian clients: DB pension, $10,195M; DC pension, $2,749M;

foundation & not-for-profit, $677M; retail mutual funds (direct), $1,074M1; total, $170,013M2; others, $155,318M3 (general account and sub-advisory) Canadian plan sponsors (DB): 103 Canadian fixed income specialist assets: Pooled, $810M; segregated, $4,502M; total, $5,312M Other asset classes: $4,882M Pension fund AUM for Canadian DB plans: Active, $10,195M; total, $10,195M Canadian plan sponsors (DC): 14 DC pension plan AUM for Canadian plan sponsors: DC pension, $2,749M; total, $2,749M Total pension assets (DB & DC) managed for Canadian clients: $12,944M Note: SLC Management is the brand name for the institutional asset management business of Sun Life Financial Inc. (“Sun Life”) under which Sun Life Capital Management (Canada) Inc. operates. Data in CAD as of 06/30/2026 and represents combined assets of Sun Life Capital Management (Canada) Inc., Sun Life Capital Management (U.S.) LLC., InfraRed Capital Partners, and Crescent Capital Group LP. Total firm AUM includes assets managed by the SLC Management group of companies on behalf of external clients, and the Sun Life General Account. AUM includes unfunded commitments, cash, equity, and other balances. Total firm AUM excludes assets under administration. The methodologies used to compile the total AUM are subject to change and may not reflect regulatory AUM. More information is available upon request. 1 Sub-advisory mandate for Sun Life Global Investments (Canada) mutual fund. 2 Information as of June 30, 2026 (with exception of InfraRed data being as of March 31, 2026). 3 Includes assets managed for our parent company’s general account, as well as sub-advisory for insurance company segregated funds. 4 We offer investment management services to defined contribution pension plans through our Group Retirement Services Business Unit. 5 Sun Life Capital Management (Canada) Inc. pooled products are underlying investments in the Sun Life Granite Target Date series of Funds offered under Sun Life Group Retirement Services platform. Breakdown of underlying clients using the Sun Life Granite Target Date Funds is not available.

TD GLOBAL INVESTMENT SOLUTIONS Contact: Sean Collins, CFA Managing Director, Head of Global Institutional Distribution & Business Development Address: 161 Bay St., Toronto, ON, M5J 2T2 PH: 289-928-6711 Email: sean.collins@tdam.com Website: https://www.tdgis.com Ownership structure: Third party, 100% (TD

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MONEY MANAGERS DIRECTORY

Bank Group) Investment professionals: 334 Established: 1987 Minimum investment: Pooled, $17M; separate, $50M active and $200M passive Manager style: Size bias – small cap, large cap, all cap; style bias – value, growth, GARP, core Management style: Active and passive Fixed income management style: Active and passive Bond management style: Duration, credit, yield curve Other management styles: Minimum variance (low volatility) Services to DC pension plan clients: Investment management Investment AUM for Canadian clients: DB pension, $145,815.91M; DC pension, $24,924.48M; pension assets managed for other managers, $504.70M; foundation & not-forprofit, $9,876.73M; private client, $77,993.86M; retail mutual funds (direct), $227,522.28M; total, $544,512.08M; others, $57,874.12M Canadian plan sponsors (DB): 278 Balanced account assets: Pooled, $312.84M; total, $312.84M Canadian equity specialist assets: Pooled, $3,176.03M; segregated, $226.95M; total, $3,402.98M Canadian fixed income specialist assets: Pooled, $16,816.29M; segregated, $18,741.53M; total, $35,557.83M US equity specialist assets: Pooled, $3,438.58M; segregated, $948.57M; total, $4,387.14M Global equity specialist assets for global mandates: Pooled, $9,676.72M; segregated, $3,446.52M; total, $13,123.24M Global equity specialist assets for EAFE mandates: Pooled, $1,076.12M; total, $1,076.12M Other asset classes: Cash, $2,147.65M; non-Canadian fixed income, $6.35M; real estate, $14,170.38M; infrastructure, $1,042.57M; currency overlay, $10,305.19M; other, $60,283.62M Pension fund AUM for Canadian DB plans: Active, $45,693.55M; passive, $100,122.36M; total, $145,815.91M Canadian plan sponsors (DC): 34 DC pension plan AUM for Canadian plan sponsors: DC pension, $25,429.18M; total, $25,429.18M Total pension assets (DB & DC) managed for Canadian clients: $171,245.09M

TRANS-CANADA CAPITAL Contact: JeanFrançois Milette Global Head, Client Solutions Address: 1800 McGill College Avenue, Suite 2000, Montreal, QC, H3A 3J6 PH: 514-397-7370 Email: jfmilette@transcanadacapital.com Website: https://www.tcc.ca Ownership structure: Third party, 100% (Air Canada) Investment professionals: 43 Established: 2019 Minimum investment: Pooled, $5M Manager style: Size bias – all cap; style bias – core Management style: Active; fixed income; bond – credit Other management styles: Relative value approach within fixed income Investment AUM for Canadian clients: DB pension, $33,458.9M; foundation & not-for-profit, $62.5M; private client, $61.1M; retail mutual funds (direct), $15.9M; total, $33,598.4M; others, $510.5M Canadian plan sponsors (DB): 5 Canadian equity specialist assets: Pooled, $361.1M; total, $361.1M Canadian fixed income specialist assets: Pooled, $4,894.6M; segregated, $13,189.7M; total, $18,111.1M Global equity specialist assets for global mandates: Pooled, $1,775.8M; total, $1,775.8M Other asset classes: Hedge funds, $3,610.5M; other, $9,120.9M Pension fund AUM for Canadian DB plans: Active, $33,458.9M; total, $33,458.9M Canadian plan sponsors (DC): 1 DC pension plan AUM for Canadian plan sponsors: DC pension, $22.4M; total, $22.4M Total pension assets (DB & DC) managed for Canadian clients: $33,481.3M

Address: 600 de Maisonneuve Blvd Street West, Suite 2510, Montreal, QC, H3A 3J2 PH: 514-985-0909 Fax: 514-985-2430 Email: akong@vanberkomglobal.com Website: vanberkomglobal.com Ownership structure: Principals, 100% Investment professionals: 17 Established: 1991 Minimum investment: Pooled, $1M; separate, $5M Manager style: Size bias – small cap; style bias – core Management style: Active; quality Investment AUM for Canadian clients: DB pension, $2,292M; DC pension, $87M; foundation & not-forprofit, $244M; private client, $55M; total, $2,741M; other, $64M (sub-advised) Canadian plan sponsors (DB): 14 Canadian equity specialist assets: Segregated, $250M; pooled, $15M; total, $265M US equity specialist assets: Segregated, $4,270M; pooled, $124M; total, $4,394M Global equity specialist assets for global mandates: Pooled, $106M; segregated, $62M; total, $168M Other asset classes: International, $4 equity Pension fund AUM for Canadian DB plans: Active, $2,292M; total, $2,292M Canadian plan sponsors (DC): 7 DC pension plan AUM for Canadian plan sponsors: Total, $87M Total pension assets (DB & DC) managed for Canadian clients: $2,379M

VAN BERKOM GLOBAL ASSET MANAGEMENT Contact: Andy Kong Head of Global Business Development

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SPECIAL REPORT

HOT

LIST 2026

Meet this year’s 30 honourees and see why recognition has moved from the C-suite toward the advisors and specialists closest to the work

CONTENTS

PAGE

Feature article ................................................. 36 Methodology ................................................... 37 Hot List 2026 .................................................. 44

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SPECIAL REPORT

HOT LIST 2026

IMPACT OVER TITLE BPM’s Hot List 2026 – 30 leaders in benefits, pensions, and institutional investment EVENTS ARE hurtling along at such a rapid pace within the industry that only the best are able to navigate those changes and adapt. These are the ones who can and are leading by example. This select group is connected by a shared instinct that manifests in different ways depending on their role and industry niche, but all are handling the pressure and using it to execute wise strategic moves. “The hardest part is you lie in bed worrying about someone’s career, and they’re sleeping like a baby,” says J. David Tompkins, vice

president of sales at Manitoba Blue Cross in Winnipeg and an industry veteran of almost 40 years, who shares his perspective as an expert. It’s a strange, mostly invisible weight, and it’s the kind of thing this year’s winners carry every day. This year’s fourth annual list from Benefits and Pensions Monitor (BPM) names 30 winners for 2026, who show exactly where that needle is moving, and not in just one corner of the industry. “The Canadian benefits and pensions industry is collaborative. Leaders who don’t

BPM‘S HOT LIST 2026 KEY INSIGHTS 4 key findings What this year’s 30 winners, and four years of Hot List data, reveal

Recognition is moving from the C-suite to the people closest to the work

27%

Advisors, partners, and specialists now hold 27% of the Hot List, a four-year high, while C-suite representation has fallen to a four-year low of 23%

One shared instinct, four different proofs INNOVATION

CULTURE & GROWTH

PARTNERSHIP

INSTITUTIONAL CAPITAL

Chris Gory

Meghan Vallis

Sunil Hirjee

Kin Chin

Gave away AI and CRM training to advisors nationwide, unpaid

Record sales and zero team churn since 2023

Gave plan sponsors a direct line to Beneva’s leadership

Closed a multibillion-dollar mandate on capability, not one product

20% ‘23

29% ‘24

35%

‘25

37%

‘26

The one trend that has climbed every single year since 2023: winners with 10 to 20 years’ experience, now 37% of the list, up from 20% at launch.

Source: BPM Hot List nomination data, 2023–2026

try to do things on their own, who work with peer organizations and industry associations, are the ones who deliver superior outcomes,” says Korinne Collins, CEO of the Association of Canadian Pension Management (ACPM). And Tompkins comments, “The best leaders are a resource, not a roadblock. This industry is evolving fast right now, government downloading, new drugs in the marketplace, cost pressures, AI creeping in, changing societal factors, and team members need someone they can go to for answers, or at least someone who knows where to find them. Knowledge alone isn’t enough, though. Compassion matters just as much, understanding the pressures your people are under.” BPM’s editorial team analyzed hundreds of nominations searching for proof of what someone built or fixed in the past year. Nominees needed at least 10 years in the industry to qualify, and the editorial team narrowed that group down to the 30 people doing the most to shape the benefits, pensions, and institutional investment space. The data shows C-suite representation has fallen to 23 percent, the lowest share since the list began, while advisors, partners, and specialists now hold 27 percent, the highest share yet. This report explains why and reveals what it means to be a difference-maker today.

What’s driving benefits, pensions, and institutional investment in 2026 None of the 30 winners work in a vacuum. Behind the cost pressure and demand for

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personalization driving this year’s recognitions sits a fast-moving set of market forces across pensions, benefits, and institutional investment.

Why are Canadian DB pensions well funded but slow to de-risk in 2026? Canadian defined benefit (DB) plans are, on paper, in the best shape they’ve been in years. The median solvency ratio – the ratio of a plan’s assets to what it owes members – across DB plans reached 128 percent as of June 30, 2026, with 89 percent of plans fully solvent and 65 percent at or above a 120 percent solvency ratio, per Mercer’s Pension Health Pulse, as reported by Wealth Professional. Yet the pension risk transfer market, where sponsors offload that liability to insurers, isn’t matching that momentum. Sun Life expects total pension risk transfer volume in 2026 to land broadly in line with 2025’s $6.8 billion, well below 2024’s record $11 billion, BPM’s own coverage shows. That gap is a live decision for plan sponsors. A funded surplus this large won’t hold indefinitely, and every quarter spent waiting is a quarter of interest rate and market risk sponsors are choosing to keep rather than transfer. Advisors and consultants who can move a de-risking transaction quickly are capturing the business this year, running more frequent asset-liability studies and pricing competitive annuity deals as what used to be an occasional review turns into an ongoing governance exercise. Which leaders have moved a pension plan from surplus to secured, translating a funding cushion into a completed de-risking transaction rather than a missed window? The profiles ahead answer this question directly.

Why are mental health costs rising for Canadian employers in 2026? Canadian group health costs are projected

to rise 8.3 percent in 2026, up from 7.4 percent in 2025 and running 6.2 points above general inflation, according to Aon’s 2026 Global Medical Trend Rates Report, as reported by BPM. TELUS Health’s 2026 Drug Data Trends & National Benchmarks Report shows specialty biologics and high-cost therapies are compounding that pressure. Specialty drugs now account for 33.9 percent of total eligible drug spend despite just 2.1 percent of claimants using them, and ultra-highcost therapies alone make up 5.2 percent of spend. Mental health claims are driving a meaningful share of the broader increase: 73 percent of employers saw a rise in mental health claims in 2025, says Denis Guay, president of global benefits at HUB International, and mental health now accounts for 40 percent of new long-term-disability claims, per Alberta Blue Cross’s Benefits Pulse Report. Nationally, poor mental health costs the Canadian economy an estimated $180 billion a year, with employers absorbing roughly $110 billion of that directly, yet only about 14 percent of employer mental health spending goes toward prevention rather than crisis response, according to CSA Group. That combination puts plan sponsors in a specific bind. Costs are rising broadly, but the one category accelerating hardest, mental health, has the least established plan design playbook. Sponsors are re-underwriting drug and mental health coverage mid-cycle, often accepting double-digit increases in specific benefit lines rather than across the whole plan, while advisors build utilization dashboards across virtual therapy, psychiatry, and specialty pharmacy, folding what used to be siloed vendors into a single coverage strategy. Who has built a mental-health or specialty-drug strategy that improves access without blowing up the budget? Chris Gory’s and Meghan Vallis’ profiles are two answers.

What BPM’s Hot List 2026 reveals about the industry’s changing talent pool Who makes up the 2026 BPM Hot List, and where are they concentrated? Benefits and pensions professionals are being asked to do two things at once: hold the line on cost as premiums and plan expenses climb, and deliver more personalized, higher-touch service than ever. The 2026 Hot List data show where the industry currently concentrates the people doing both. • 53 percent of 2026 winners are based in Ontario, more than Quebec and British Columbia combined. • 53 percent have spent 21–30 years in the industry, the list’s largest single tenure band. • 37 percent work for plan sponsors, the single largest sector represented. • Gender is the one exception to the pattern, a 60/40 split between men

METHODOLOGY In June 2026, Benefits and Pensions Monitor invited industry professionals from across the country to submit peer and self-submitted nominations for their most exceptional leaders for the fourth annual Hot List. Nominees had to have been in the industry for at least 10 years. After reviewing hundreds of nominations, BPM narrowed the list down to 30 movers and shakers whose contributions have helped shape the benefits, pensions, and institutional investment space over the past 12 months. From innovators at the forefront of change to leaders who are transforming the way the industry does business, this year’s Hot List represents the best the industry has to offer.

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HOT LIST 2026

MARKET DATA ON PENSIONS

Chris Gory

Employee Benefits Advisor

Full funding, slower de-risking Canadian DB pension solvency vs. pension risk transfer market volume

Core motivation: giving away the automa-

MEDIAN DB SOLVENCY RATIO

tion his own corner of the industry never had

128% As of June 30, 2026, per Mercer’s Pension Health Pulse Canadian DB plans have never been this well funded, yet pension risk transfer volume remains far below

2024’s record $11 billion.

89%

65%

of Canadian DB plans are now fully solvent

of plans have a solvency ratio of 120% or higher

PENSION RISK TRANSFER VOLUME BY YEAR

$11.0B

$6.8B

~$6.8B

2024

2025

2026 (proj.)

2026 figure is Sun Life’s own projection, expected to land broadly in line with 2025. Source: Mercer, Pension Health Pulse (solvency data, Q2 2026), as reported by Wealth Professional; Sun Life (pension risk transfer market volume and 2026 outlook), as reported by Benefits and Pensions Monitor

and women, the tightest margin of any category measured.

How the Hot List recognition has changed BPM’s own four-year Hot List data, tracked since the award’s launch in 2023, is this report’s most defensible original data asset, and it shows a genuine shift in who gets recognized and why. •C -suite representation has fallen to a four-year low of 23 percent, down from a peak of 36 percent in 2024. • Partner and specialist titles, among them advisors, principals, and practice leaders, have climbed to a fouryear high of 27 percent, the highest share since the list began. • Separately, winners with 10–20 years’ experience have grown every single

year, from 20 percent in 2023 to 37 percent in 2026, spread across every title band rather than concentrated in one. • The winner pool itself has narrowed to 30 honourees in 2026 from 45 in 2023. Recognition is moving away from executive title and toward the advisors, partners, and specialists doing the hands-on work of controlling cost and building personalized plans. As affordability pressure intensifies, the data suggest the industry is rewarding the people closest to that work, not the executives furthest from it, a pattern this report returns to when it looks at where the pressure goes next.

Who are Canada’s top benefits, pensions, and institutional investment leaders in 2026?

At a glance •R ole: Employee Benefits Advisor, Orchard Benefits • Location: Ontario • Category: Group Benefits/Insurance m ove : automated • S i g n a t u r e renewal-document and claims-report processing with AI, cutting a 20- to 30-minute task down to about two minutes, then taught the process to advisors nationwide for free Chris Gory has a joke about his corner of the insurance industry. Employee benefits, he says, is the redheaded stepchild of the business – a line he’s entitled to use, he points out, because his own daughter is a redhead. Underneath the punchline is a real grievance. While property and casualty and life insurance built out serious technology infrastructure over the decades, employee benefits never got the same investment. “We haven’t had that voice pushing for someone who’s setting standards for data interchange, for anything,” he says. So, for the past three years, he estimates he’s spoken with a thousand advisors, unpaid, trying to close that gap himself. The scale Gory has built at his own oneperson firm makes his case for him: 125 groups and $12.2 million in premium. “I couldn’t grow to the size that my firm has if I hadn’t automated these things,” he says. What he automated is concrete. Drop a completed renewal document into a folder, and AI extracts the employee counts, premiums, and expiry dates and updates his

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CRM automatically, a task that used to take 20–30 minutes and now takes about two. A second build turns claims experience reports into a branded, six-page PDF with executive notes and a product checklist in three minutes flat. The cost of running that kind of automation has fallen fast too. Gory now pays $200 a month for the subscription doing that work, replacing a custom build that once cost him considerably more to set up. His pitch to advisors intimidated by all of it is simple: “Find one pain point and start with a simple turnkey solution you don’t have to customize yourself. Then, once you get better at that, find your next pain point.” He’s not shy about pointing out that he’s not an early adopter by age or background. “I’ve been in insurance since ‘95,” he says. “I’m not a spring chicken. If I can do it, everyone else can do it.” That advice has already reached hundreds of advisors through Benefits Alliance and Canadian Group Insurance Brokers events across the country this year. It builds on a benchmarking platform Gory developed for Benefits Alliance and later handed over to the association outright. It has also earned him recognition far past this year’s Hot List, including Benefits Alliance’s President’s Award and a spot on BPM’s own Top Advisors list in 2026. Looking ahead, Gory expects automation to move further into the back office. Document preparation and basic renewal negotiations are next, the same administrative work that currently eats up an advisor’s day. “Larger firms won’t have to hire as many people,” he says. “Smaller firms can free up their time to go help clients.” Either way, he plans to keep giving the process away for free. The redheaded stepchild, by his own account, is finally catching up.

Q&A with Chris Gory Q: What’s the actual problem you’re trying to

“I’m just trying to help do my part to automate our little corner of the industry”

to move to AI over the next two years. And you don’t need to know how to code to make it happen; you just have to act like a project manager, think through the pain point, and tell the tool very specifically what you want it to do.

Chris Gory, Orchard Benefits

Core motivation: elevating the group benefits industry for everyone

solve by giving away AI and CRM training to advisors for free, rather than charging for it? A: Just trying to free up everyone’s time from doing these little minutiae tasks when they could be out helping clients, finding new clients, giving back to the community. If I hadn’t automated so much myself, I couldn’t be talking to other people about all the different things they can do.

At a glance •R ole: Group Sales Vice President, Western Canada, Equitable • Location: British Columbia • Category: Group Benefits/Insurance • Signature move: relaunched Equitable’s myFlex product around small business, delivering the highest sales in company history in the same year

Q: What pushback or skepticism do

Meghan Vallis joined Equitable in May 2020, near the peak of the pandemic’s first wave, to lead a team worn down by years of heavy turnover. It was almost two years before she met her own boss, her peers, and much of her team in person. “I’m quite approachable and open,” she says. “I love getting up in their business as much as I can, in a good way, because I love joining them to see our advisor partners together.” She saw quickly that success at a midsize insurer meant something different than the brand-name sales job a newer hire might expect. “When I started in the industry as an account executive at a Big 3, sales would literally just come in off the fax machine,” she says. Equitable is nimble, flat, and clientfirst, but it doesn’t carry that same brand weight. “You’re kind of selling yourself twice,” she says. So, she changed how she hired,

you still hear from advisors about AI in benefits, and how do you answer it? A: They all think it’s this big thing, that they’ve got this big practice and don’t know where to start. I always tell them to find one pain point and start with a simple turnkey solution. When I was speaking to CGIB in Calgary and Vancouver, I talked a lot about AI voice dictation, just holding a key on the keyboard to dictate an activity, an email, a document, and choosing the tone you want. Don’t feel overwhelmed. Find something simple to implement now, then move to the next pain point.

Q: Where does this go next? What does “AI-adopted” look like for a typical benefits advisory firm in two years? A: We’re going to see more and more automated. Document preparation, basic renewal negotiations, all the back-office tasks are going

Meghan Vallis Group Sales VP, Western Canada

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HOT LIST 2026

BPM’S HOTLIST 2026 SNAPSHOT A concentrated list – with one exception More than half of this year’s Hot List shares a province and a career stage. Gender is the one dimension where it doesn’t.

53%

53% have spent 21 to 30 years in the industry 37% work for plan sponsors, the single largest sector

Based in Ontario Together, these numbers paint a specific profile: the typical 2026 winner is Ontario-based and mid-to-late career, not spread evenly across regions or career stages.

THE EXCEPTION The one place the pattern breaks: gender splits close to even, the tightest split of any category measured.

60/40

Male 60%

personalization comes up more and more and more in our conversations with employees and employers,” she says. Vallis was a newcomer to Vancouver when she attended the first meeting of what would become the Women in Benefits Networking Group in 2015, founded by three women in the industry. “It was so welcoming to be invited in to join all of these women and just get to know each other,” she says. When the pandemic scattered that connection, she stepped in to revive it, renaming it from its original title, the Original Girls Industry Club, to the Women in Benefits Networking Group. Her reason for staying involved is simple. “How can we elevate the benefit industry so we’re all better?” The group, she says, stays deliberately unpolished. “No one’s trying to sell each other things. It’s just, ‘who are you, who am I, what are we up to.’”

Q&A with Meghan Vallis

Female 40%

Q: You took over a team with years of FULL 2026 BREAKDOWN – SECTOR, REGION, AND TENURE Region

Sector Plan sponsors Group benefits Service providers Asset managers Consultants

37% 23% 20% 10% 10%

Ontario Quebec British Columbia Other

Tenure 53% 20% 17% 10%

21–30 years 10–20 years 31–40 years

53% 37% 10%

Based on the 30 winners of the 2026 BPM Hot List, as recorded in nomination form data. Figures are rounded to the nearest whole percent and may not total 100%.

looking for people who wanted that more relational sale. The results followed. Zero churn since 2023, a team engagement score of 92 percent with full participation, a No. 1 ranking from NMG Consulting for relationship management, and, in the same stretch, 20.5 percent block growth and an 86.6 percent jump in sales, the highest in Equitable’s history. That same instinct for rebuilding around what works shaped Vallis’s relaunch of myFlex, Equitable’s flexible benefits product. “We really decided that we would

get back to the roots of the product, which was packaged flex for small business,” she says. The plan design had historically been reserved for large employers with 100–300plus staff. Bringing it to businesses under 50 filled a gap for smaller companies wanting to offer the same personalized choice. The proof, she says, is that existing clients are choosing to move to the new design even though they don’t have to. It reflects a demand she sees everywhere now. “Everyone’s needs are changing, but I think today that

heavy turnover in 2020 and have had zero churn since 2023. What actually changed? A: A lot changed, but a lot of it came down to who I hired. Everything at Equitable is client-centred, client-focused, client-first. We’re mutual and equitable, so I looked for people who genuinely wanted that kind of relational sale rather than a big, well-known brand doing the selling for them. I’d like to think I keep my team around because of the way I’m leading them.

Q: What was the hardest part of relaunching myFlex, and what told you it had worked? A: myFlex is such a unique product, there’s still nothing else like it in the market. The hard part was that we’d been experimenting with it in a lot of directions, and a project like that can get pulled apart by scope creep if you let it. We controlled it by focusing hard on what we were building and for whom. Once we locked that in, updating and launching it was straightforward. What told me it worked was the marketplace feedback, strong sales, and clients

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“It’s safe to try things out and fail. That’s how we get better” Meghan Vallis, Equitable on our existing block choosing to move to the new plan design when they didn’t have to.

Q: What’s it given you back, being involved with the Women in Benefits Networking Group over the years? A: It’s one of those things where insurance needs more women in it, and this group is just about connecting with each other, no agenda, nobody selling anything. We’ll have someone from an executive team in the room with someone brand new to the industry, and everyone’s just there to get to know each other. As a leader, I [am] able to lift people up through my position, and a group like this lets everyone do that for each other.

Q: What’s the one thing you want E q u i t a b l e’ s w e s t e r n b u s i n e s s t o be known for a year from now? A: It’s pretty simple for me. At Equitable, and in the West specifically since that’s the team I run, we’re the best group benefit option out there, and we have the best team in the industry to deliver on that promise.

Sunil Hirjee

Vice-President, Sales and Partner Experience

Core motivation: making the invisible partnership visible At a glance • Role: Vice President, Sales and Partner Experience, Beneva • Location: Ontario, Western and Atlantic Canada • Category: Group Benefits/Insurance • Signature move: brought plan spon-

sors and brokers face to face with Beneva’s leadership at a two-day head-office event, replacing filtered feedback with direct input Sunil Hirjee’s understanding of the value of group insurance traces back to his childhood. His family was newer to Canada and had no access to private coverage when a chronic condition affected the household. “I experienced, even at a young age, what that can do to a home, in terms of the time it takes to manage a situation like that, and the expense burden,” he says. He didn’t fully appreciate what he was witnessing at the time, he says, but looking back now, he sees it clearly. That history is why Hirjee, vice president of sales and partner experience for Ontario, Western, and Atlantic Canada at Beneva, resists treating his work as routine administration. Beneva already tracks partner sentiment through relationship-based Net Promoter Score (NPS) surveys. This year, Hirjee pushed that listening discipline further with a two-day event at Beneva’s Quebec head office, bringing plan sponsors, brokers, and consulting partners face to face with the leaders shaping the insurer’s strategy. Partners got direct access to the people shaping Beneva’s direction, and Beneva’s own leaders heard the feedback first-hand rather than filtered through several layers on the way up. “That telephone game sometimes can convolute a message,” he says. It’s one piece of a broader discipline at Beneva, where every leader is mandated to personally call members who have just had a significant experience with the company. “We’ve seen turnarounds. We’ve seen very big partnerships start to take formation,”

Hirjee says of the event’s impact, growth he ties to the wider expansion of the regions he oversees. That same instinct underpins a broader change Hirjee has pushed throughout his mandate, which is moving partner service from reactive to proactive, showing partners what’s evolving before they have to ask. Looking ahead, Hirjee sees plan sponsors navigating a tougher balancing act. A workforce spanning more generations than ever brings a wider range of expectations to a benefits plan, each generation with its own way of communicating and engaging with coverage, while member budgets stay finite rather than expanding to match. He points to Beneva’s own numbers as proof it’s not just a feeling. Requests for full flex programs are clearly increasing, and so is adoption of spending accounts built for added flexibility. Underneath that complexity, Hirjee says the bigger priority has become something simpler. “Fundamentally, just be easy to work with,” he says, pointing to accuracy in claims adjudication and timely, thorough responses to members, administrators, and consultants alike. He connects it to expectations set well outside the insurance industry. Retailers now deliver overnight, information arrives within seconds, and members bring that same standard to their benefits plan. For Hirjee, meeting that same bar starts the same way it always has, with listening first.

Q&A with Sunil Hirjee Q: What’s one specific thing you did in the last 12 months that you’d point to as your biggest impact this year? A: None of this is ever a sole contribution; there’s a phenomenal team at Beneva on this mission. But if I had to pick one thing, it’s making sure our strategy stays dynamic and includes the perspective of our plan sponsors and broker, consulting, and TPA partners. This year, that meant a two-day event at our head office, bringing in strong

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HOT LIST 2026

“There’s an opportunity to make lives of Canadians better. It’s sometimes seen as just insurance, but it can really help end users” Sunil Hirjee, Beneva adopters of Beneva’s offering to get their perspective on how our vision should evolve.

Q: Group insurance partner experience is your mandate. What’s changed about how brokers or plan sponsors work with Beneva under your watch? A: This is a shift over time, not something that happened in one year. We still have to acknowledge, react to, and resolve what’s sent to us – that doesn’t go away. But the priority has become showing partners what’s evolving on our end, how we’re adapting, before they have to ask.

Q: Is there a plan sponsor or broker relationship you turned around or grew significantly this year? What happened? A: Plan sponsors, brokers, and consultants are looking for a partner, and partnership means a willingness to listen to what’s happening in their organizations. When we put a conscious, deliberate effort into that kind of listening, direct, increased partnership followed.

Q: What’s the biggest shift you’re seeing in what plan sponsors want from group insurers? A: We have different generations in the work-

force now, each with a different set of needs and a different way of engaging with a benefits plan. We’ve all adapted to getting information within seconds, and that’s become the expectation for group benefits, too; fast, but also comprehensive.

Kin Chin

Senior Vice President

Core motivation: putting client goals ahead of the product pitch At a glance • Role: Senior Vice President, Franklin Templeton •L ocation: Ontario •C ategory: Asset Managers/Money Managers •S ignature move: won a multibillion-dollar institutional mandate spanning public and private markets by leading with client fit over any single product Kin Chin tries to get on a tennis court several times a week, and most of that time isn’t spent on his own game. Mentoring young players is part of it. “I focused less on a single match result and more on helping them with preparation, discipline, resilience, and decision-making under pressure,” he says. Technical skill matters, but Chin believes the mental side determines who lasts. That same distinction shapes how he runs his team at Franklin Templeton. When a client situation goes sideways or a sales opportunity is lost, Chin’s next step is to “focus on what we can learn from the experience as opposed to assigning blame,” he says. “I think that mindset builds confidence and accountability.” Chin joined Franklin Templeton’s institutional team in 2020 and has taken on a widening set of responsibilities since, playing a pivotal role in transforming the firm’s institu-

tional business in Canada. He has helped introduce several of Franklin Templeton’s investment capabilities to the Canadian market and strengthened relationships with the country’s largest and most sophisticated pension plans, including the Maple 8. It’s the same discipline behind Chin’s biggest win of the past year, a multibillion-dollar institutional mandate spanning public and private markets. The client notified Franklin Templeton of the win late in 2025, and funding began arriving this year. He’s clear about what won it. “It wasn’t the fact that we had a single best product, but how we are able to bring all these broad capabilities together,” he says. Chin sums up that philosophy in a favourite saying – that the best way to climb a mountain is to go around it. That capability-first approach starts before any portfolio gets built. “We start every decision with the client’s objectives, constraints, and governance requirements in mind,” Chin says. That means understanding long-term liabilities, cash-flow needs, and risk tolerance prior to implementation. Public and private markets are built into one portfolio framework rather than managed in silos, with every decision weighed against the client’s return objective, diversification needs, and liquidity. Chin, who started his career in consulting, has watched that kind of relationship change over the years. “The conversations have shifted from, ‘Hey, what products do you offer?’ to, ‘Okay, how can you help us achieve our goals based on the toolkit that you have?’” he says. Large plan sponsors still care about performance, he says, but what they’re really looking for now is a partner willing to dig into the problem itself. “Help me understand the challenge that you’re facing, and let me explain how we can help you,” he says. Off the court, colleagues describe Chin as equally committed to family, balancing institutional sales with supporting his own children’s pursuits, from elite-level hockey to

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“In both tennis and institutional sales, the technical side matters, but the mental side is often what determines long-term success” Kin Chin, Franklin Templeton ballet. His approach to both sounds a lot like the one he teaches on the tennis court. “If we are disciplined, if we do a good job day in and day out, over the long term, we’ll see success.”

mandate win happen, and what was Franklin Templeton’s pitch that won it? A: We were notified of the win late last year, and the funding has been coming through this year. We’ve already received the first tranche, with more to follow. Our pitch wasn’t built around claiming we were better in any one strategy. We have good strategies across a lot of asset classes, but it was really about how we could partner with them and leverage [our] broad toolkit to benefit them specifically.

Q: What’s changed about how the Maple 8 and other major institutional clients want to work with an asset manager since you took this on? A: I started my career in consulting, so this is something I’m genuinely passionate about. There’s a much bigger consultative approach to selling now than there was even 10 or 15 years ago. It’s not just presenting an investment strategy anymore, it’s a much deeper relationship, understanding a client’s challenge and explaining how we can actually help solve it.

Q&A with Kin Chin Q: You mentioned mentoring young tennis Q: What does “client-first” actually look like in a mandate as large and complex as the one you won this year, spanning both public and private markets? A: Large, sophisticated clients want a line of sight on decision-making, risk exposure, performance drivers, and implementation costs, so being client-first means building custom reporting and new processes that actually help them make more informed decisions, not just delivering returns and calling it done. I’d also say it means staying flexible. We build a portfolio today based on a client’s circumstances today, their liquidity needs, today’s capital market assumptions, but those things evolve, and our ability to evolve the solution alongside them is just as important as getting it right on day one. Q: When did the multibillion-dollar

players on the mental side of the game. Is there a parallel between that and how you coach your own team or approach client relationships? A: I think the common link is helping people perform at their best under pressure, helping them maintain perspective, and staying committed to a disciplined process, whether that’s hitting a tennis ball or servicing a client. It’s the same mindset either way.

What the Hot List 2026 solved, and what the industry still hasn’t This year’s Hot List winners prove the tension driving this report, rising cost pressure against the demand for something more personalized, isn’t unsolvable. • Gory freed advisors from hours of manual work with tools that cost a few hundred dollars a month.

•V allis added mental health coverage and expanded parental leave in the same year she posted record sales. • Hirjee replaced filtered feedback with a direct line to Beneva’s leadership. • C hin turned partnership, not a single product, into a multibilliondollar mandate. Each solved a piece of the problem, but a piece is not the whole. Canadian DB plans are sitting on the healthiest solvency ratios in years, and pension risk transfer volume still hasn’t caught up to 2024’s pace, meaning most sponsors are choosing to hold risk rather than lock in the gain these 30 winners’ peers already have. Employer mental health spending is still 86 percent reactive. And recognition itself is moving toward the specialists doing this work, but slowly; C-suite titles and VP roles still make up nearly three-quarters of the list. “It’s important to focus on innovation that provides tangible, meaningful outcomes, and avoid spending time on innovation just for innovation’s sake,” says ACPM’s Collins. The industry has 30 examples now of what solving the problem looks like. What it does with the other several thousand professionals still waiting to catch up is next year’s story.

INSIGHTS As part of our editorial process, Benefits and Pensions Monitor’s researchers interviewed the subject matter experts below for an independent analysis of this report and its findings. Korinne Collins Chief Executive Officer Association of Canadian Pension Management J. David Tompkins, BA, CEBS Vice President, Sales Manitoba Blue Cross

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SPECIAL REPORT

HOT LIST 2026

HOT LIST 2026 Meghan Vallis Group Sales VP, Western Canada Equitable Email: mvallis@equitable.ca Website: equitable.ca Chris Gory Employee Benefits Advisor Orchard Benefits Phone: 1 855 967 2427 Email: chris@orchardbenefits.ca Website: orchardbenefits.ca Kin Chin Senior Vice President Franklin Templeton Website: franklintempleton.ca Sunil Hirjee Vice-President, Sales and Partner Experience Ontario, Western, and Atlantic Canada Group Insurance Beneva Website: beneva.ca Alex Mazer Co-founder and CEO Common Wealth Ayman Alvi General Manager, Benefits Rio Tinto Barbara Zvan President and CEO University Pension Plan (UPP) Blake Hutcheson President and CEO OMERS Chelsea Kittleson Executive Director BC Municipal Pension Plan Danny Martin Principal, Risk and Investment Practice Eckler Ltd.

Jay McMahon President and Chief Operating Officer Specialty Life Insurance Julie Joyal Vice President, Pension Services Alberta Teachers’ Retirement Fund Board Julien Ranger Partner, Pensions and Benefits Osler Karen Burnett Vice President, Pension Solutions CAAT Pension Plan Kevin Lynch Chief Sales Officer Linea Solutions Kim Zinck President Disability Management Institute Krista Hogan Director, Product Development, Health Benefits and Solutions Sun Life Marco Dickner Retirement Risk Management Leader, Canada Willis Towers Watson Marie-Chantal Côté SVP, Group Benefits Sun Life Canada Michael Gillis Advisor Boilermakers National Pension Plan Olivier Pagé Director, Group Disability Management Operations Medavie Blue Cross Renee Bilodeau Vice-President, Board and Communication Services BC Pension Corporation Shileen Pederson Director, Benefits Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation Stacey Parker-Yull Vice President, Pension Strategy & Services WISE Trust

Darryl Mabini Assistant Vice President, Pension Advocacy & Research HOOPP (Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan)

Stuart Morgan Executive Director British Columbia Public Service Pension Board of Trustees and British Columbia Teachers’ Pension Board of Trustees

Duane Green CEO, Americas Aviva Investors

Susan Nickerson Partner; Head, Pensions, Benefits, and Executive Compensation McCarthy Tétrault

Jamie Abbott Senior Director, Benefits and Well-Being Royal Bank of Canada

Tejash (TJ) Modi Partner and Practice Leader TELUS Health

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10/1/2026 3:12:26 AM

OPINION

INVESTMENTS

Rehabilitating the reputation of tracking error Total portfolio approach treats market benchmarks as useful but not the goal IN A recent article about the total portfolio approach (TPA) it uses to manage its $860 billion portfolio, CPP provided a cogent (if not necessarily intentional) defence of tracking error. TPA interrogates every decision through the lens of “Will this help us achieve our (very) long-term goals?” and treats market benchmarks as useful but not the goal. There is a certain liberty in this perspective. It allows you to take measured decisions and dismiss interim volatility as noise, media stories be damned. Compare this to the strategic asset allocation (SAA) model most investors employ, where trustees judge fund success against a simple weighted index. Individual asset managers are given benchmarks and sent packing when they fail to beat them. It is a focus on the health of individual trees while TPA tries to monitor the overall forest. SAA’s focus on tracking error got us thinking about what we’re seeing in the broader institutional landscape. Highly concentrated gains in recent years have left many active managers behind their benchmarks. This persistently high tracking error seems to be testing the patience of consultants and institutional investors who must in turn explain “underperformance” to their members. Below, we make the case for continued patience and tolerance of tracking error, and against capitulation – especially right now – to the allure of passive or tightly constrained tracking error core options.

Value added requires tracking error Portfolio theory’s most sacrosanct principle is

that you don’t get return without risk. First, what is risk? Tracking error (TE) is the variability of your returns versus the index. Skilled managers capture upside in rising markets and protect against the downside when markets weaken. The key element here is time. If you assess a manager on their skill at market extremes or over less than a four-year market cycle, you risk making a mistake. Good portfolio managers are planting seeds that will mature several years down the road; the trick is not chopping off the stem before it’s flowered. If you accept that some TE is required for returns to differ from the index, you have every right to expect your active manager to generate returns above the index to compensate you for risk, over a cycle and after they’ve been paid.

Going passive is not zero risk Put simply, good active management is a risk-adjusted return-maximizing activity – achieved by buying good companies and avoiding bad ones. This is the downside protection or path dependency part. When investors today feel the heat of seemingly chronic under-performance versus benchmarks, it’s easy to say, “Forget it – active management isn’t worth it. We’re paying fees to lag the index!” Again, this is a question of time frame. Many investors lost patience with underperforming active strategies (and their managers) in the 2000 dot-com craze, leading many price-disciplined managers to lose clients in this period, including us. Distrustful of management’s forecasts, we

never held a share of Nortel at Leith Wheeler, a value discipline that felt tough on the run up and yielded a benefit to clients obvious only on the way down. We’d argue we are in a similar environment today. Moving from a portfolio that is actively discerning value over possible hype to a passive one that blindly buys a momentum-driven, highly concentrated, possibly overvalued market is not a risk-mitigating decision. It manages for TE but accepts – when the fall comes – to bear the full brunt of that fall. Would you rather have a higher solvency ratio or a tighter relative-performance track record?

Has this risk already been managed? The success of the Yale model encouraged institutional investors to boost private asset allocations in their portfolios. It targeted longterm liabilities with long-term cash flows and its infrequent marks to market “smoothed” performance, thus reducing the volatility of returns reported. A benefit of TPA is that risk is measured and managed at the total portfolio level. You can watch sector-level exposures across aggregated equity mandates, sources of volatility can be isolated, and overall portfolio volatility (both absolute and relative to liabilities) can be managed. In that context, we leave readers with two related questions: With many plans’ greater than 25 percent allocations to privates dampening total portfolio volatility, might that not free up risk budget for active strategies (rather than entice administrators to manage it down)? And by the same token, is throttling tracking error in individual active equity strategies foregoing potential return to manage a risk that’s already been handled at the top? Marc Williams, CFA, FCIA, FIA is principal, portfolio manager − institutional clients at Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. and sits on the Investment Committee for BC Children’s Hospital Foundation. Mike Wallberg, CFA is principal, head of marketing and communications at Leith Wheeler and sits on the board and serves as vice chair of the Investment Committee for Vancouver Foundation.

www.benefitsandpensionsmonitor.com

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10/1/2026 3:18:13 AM

OPINION

PENSIONS

Time to view DB pensions as workforce strategy Pensions can help address not only workforce shortages but also workforce distribution

TOO OFTEN, defined benefit pensions are viewed only as retirement benefits. In reality, they are also a powerful workforce strategy. That message comes through clearly in the 2026 Canadian Retirement Survey, conducted annually by the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan and Abacus Data. This year’s findings show how pensions – specifically defined benefit (DB) pensions – can help employers attract new workers and retain experienced ones. That is especially relevant in healthcare, the sector HOOPP serves. For the first time since the survey was launched, in 2019, it included a dedicated sample of 803 healthcare workers, covering the same core topics as the broader population survey along with healthcare-specific issues. Nearly all healthcare workers surveyed (96 percent) believe workplace pensions are important to attracting and retaining workers. Nine in 10 agree that DB pensions help retain experienced healthcare staff, while 89 percent say they are key to attracting future healthcare workers. These findings matter because healthcare employers across Ontario continue to face staffing shortages, burnout, and

growing competition for talent. In healthcare, people are the system, making strong attraction and retention tools essential. When experienced workers leave, organizations face significant costs to recruit, onboard, and train replacements. Turnover also disrupts continuity of care and places added strain on remaining staff. Recent research commissioned by HOOPP and conducted by the Behavioural

value on it. Nearly nine in 10 rank their pension among their most important workplace benefits, and more than half say it is as important as their pay. For healthcare workers without access to a DB pension, the demand is significant: 85 percent say it would make their workplace more attractive over the long term, including 81 percent of those aged 18–34.

The evidence increasingly suggests that DB pensions should also be viewed as a strategic workforce investment Insights Team found that healthcare turnover is both expensive and operationally disruptive. The research identified dozens of cost drivers, including productivity losses, vacancy coverage, overtime, temporary staffing, and training. Vacancy coverage alone can account for the largest share of turnover costs, while productivity losses can represent a significant portion of total expenses. This is where DB pensions become especially important. The survey shows that healthcare workers with a DB pension place enormous

At a time when healthcare organizations are working to recruit the next generation of nurses, technologists, support staff, and other professionals, these findings should not be overlooked. The survey also points to another opportunity: improving healthcare access in underserved communities. Across Canada, many rural and remote communities struggle to attract healthcare professionals. Yet nearly seven in 10 younger healthcare workers say they would consider relocating to a less urban community for a

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10/1/2026 3:18:32 AM

job that offered a DB pension. More than half would choose a position in a remote or underserved community with a DB pension over a local job without one. In other words, pensions can help address not only workforce shortages but also workforce distribution. While the healthcare findings focus on one sector, the broader survey tells a similar story. Nearly two-thirds of Canadians under 35 say they would consider changing jobs if a new employer offered a DB plan. A strong majority of general population respondents (69 percent) say they would take a slightly lower salary if the job came with a pension. Investments in attraction and retention are often discussed in terms of wages, training, and recruitment initiatives. Those are all important. But the evidence increasingly suggests that DB pensions should also be viewed as a strategic workforce investment. They help employers compete for talent. They encourage experienced workers to stay. They reduce costly turnover. They support workforce stability. And in healthcare, that stability ultimately contributes to better care for patients. At HOOPP, we are privileged to help provide financial peace of mind for the people in Ontario’s healthcare system. While the system is facing many challenges, all of us who benefit from the care we receive can celebrate the people who look after us.

Jennifer Rook is the vice president of government, regulatory, and stakeholder affairs for the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan. She leads HOOPP’s research and advocacy program.

www.benefitsandpensionsmonitor.com

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10/1/2026 3:18:44 AM

PEOPLE

OTHER LIFE Balch says something to be awa re of that’s not often discussed is u nderwater bla ckout, which ca n be deadly.

POOLSIDE PREVENTION Denise Balch trades group benefits for a lifeguard chair WHILE DENISE BALCH has spent decades in the group benefits space, she trades benefits conversations a few days a month to be a lifeguard and swim instructor at her local pool in Temiskaming Shores, Ontario. Balch began training for her lifeguard certification about seven years ago, sharing classrooms with teenagers a fraction of her age. “It can be a little bit intimidating, but it’s turned out to be a lot of fun,” she says, adding that lifeguarding “is 99 percent boredom and 1 percent pure adrenaline.” Swimming itself was never something she feared. Balch gives credit to her father who, in the 1950s, fell into Lake Ontario while unloading cargo ships. “After my dad was hauled out of the water, he was determined that his children would know how to swim,” she says. “I don’t actually remember ever not being able to swim.” Balch notes that her lifelong skill and teaching swimming lessons bring “a great feeling of satisfaction,” highlighting how some children arrive at their first lesson afraid of the water, often because their parents have never exposed them to it. She connects that philosophy to her benefits work, noting that people often have different levels of comfort, and what feels intuitive to her often isn’t for others – whether it’s a child afraid of the deep end or a corporate decision-maker pushing back on a progressive aspect of benefit plan design. Balch was recently hired as a swim coach after being approached by the local team’s head coach, having expressed interest last year. She’s now enrolled in a Coaching 101 course and will soon work with more advanced swimmers, shifting her focus from basic skills to technique and race preparation. Since she never raced competitively herself, she sees this as a new challenge, one that extends beyond physical technique into helping kids manage the mental stress of competition. “It’s going to be a lot of fun, and I’m looking forward to having a positive impact on some more young people that I encounter,” she says.

9:05

Minutes for Balch to swim 400 metres

Seconds for Balch to swim 50 metres

Year interval for required recertification as lifeguard

www.benefitsandpensionsmonitor.com

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10/1/2026 3:19:10 AM

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10/1/2026 3:19:25 AM

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10/1/2026 3:21:03 AM