Asset allocation strategy

​Investment policy

The Supplemental Pension Plans Act requires retirement committees to adopt a written investment policy that takes into account the pension plan's features and commitments.

To that effect, the Desjardins Group Retirement Committee (DGRC) adopted an asset investment policy with investment objectives, strategies and guidelines, as well as monitoring procedures. Each year, the investment policy, including the target allocation for each asset class, is revised. 

A strategy designed to protect the financial health of the Plan
The strategic allocation is designed to maximize resilience in a volatile context and help us gradually improve the Plan’s long-term financial health. We simulate a multitude of economic scenarios to ensure achievement of these objectives in as many plausible economic contexts as possible. We continually roll out initiatives to optimize our activities and improve results.

Two separate portfolios, two different goals

The Plan’s assets are divided into 2 portfolios with different goals. These portfolios contain asset classes that are chosen to achieve the objectives of the total portfolio.


Performance portfolio

The objective of the performance portfolio is to help the Plan achieve its long-term target return, so that we can maintain contributions at a reasonable level for Plan members and employers.

The performance portfolio consists of the following asset classes: public equity, real estate, infrastructure, private equity, and innovation and opportunities.

The target asset mix aims to benefit from the effects of diversification to achieve the long-term target return. Our investment teams are always on the lookout for innovations with good outlooks for returns based on risk and the extent to which new investments might complement the total portfolio.


Matching portfolio

The objective of the matching portfolio is to match assets with liabilities at the target level, so that we can protect the Plan’s financial health, minimize volatility and comply with the organization’s risk budget.

The Plan’s liabilities, which consist of the payments promised to Plan members, are very affected by interest rate fluctuations. To effectively close the gap between assets and liabilities, the portfolio includes securities that are sensitive to interest rate fluctuations, such as fixed-income securities and other derivatives.

The objective of the matching portfolio is to match assets with liabilities, rather than to predict interest rate changes. Normally, when rates rise sufficiently, both the matching portfolio and liabilities yield a negative return. However, even in this context, if the matching portfolio outperforms the liabilities, the Plan’s financial health improves.