Delve: How Banks and Institutional Investment Funds Are Driving the Road to Net-Zero
One of the biggest challenges today for financial institutions is how to meet net-zero climate targets while achieving high returns on investment and satisfying the needs of various stakeholders. What does the road to net-zero look like in the realm of long-term investment, who are the players, and how should the inevitable roadblocks be overcome?
Central bank digital currencies could help improve financial inclusion
People are using cash less, and plastic more. But this presents a problem for unbanked and underbanked people. There are still a significant number of Canadians who don鈥檛 have a bank account. They can鈥檛 participate fully in the digital economy, but central bank digital currencies could help them do that.
Crypto鈥檚 impressive returns led institutional investors to consider unconventional investments
Cryptocurrencies have always been volatile, but they have also generated some very impressive returns. Even large pension funds got in on the action, and some of them have been burned. By investing in the crypto exchange FTX, the Ontario Teachers鈥� Pension Plan (OTPP) hoped to avoid the risk of investing in individual cryptocurrencies. But that backfired spectacularly when FTX collapsed, and OTPP recently wrote down its entire $95 million (USD) investment.
A place to call home trumps portfolio diversification for some investors
Many households are heavily, or even exclusively, invested in real estate. That鈥檚 a lot of聽money to have tied up in a single type of investment, but people don鈥檛 think of houses聽like other investments, according to research from Associate Professor聽Sebastien Betermier.
Prof. Weitzner's paper wins research award
Congratulations to聽Gregory Weitzner, Assistant Professor in Finance, whose paper聽鈥淏ank Loan Markups and Adverse Selection鈥� has won the聽2022 John W. Ryan Research Award.
Delve: Why digital currencies could change the future of central banking
Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC) represent a possible next step in the technological evolution of banking and the financial intermediation sector, with advances in privacy, fraud protection, and efficiency鈥攂ut their roles and risks on the high-tech path forward are only now becoming clear.
Peer-to-peer lending platforms are a potential disruptor to a long-established industry
For small businesses 鈥� and aspiring businesspeople -- banks have been a financial gatekeeper. Without assets and a business credit profile, businesses are often out of luck. But peer-to-peer lending services are beginning to disrupt an industry that is very set in its ways. Fintech lending platforms like October assign businesses a credit score based on a company鈥檚 financial history, default probability, and projected profit margin.
Real estate investment helps Canadian pension plans outperform peers
Canada鈥檚 pension plans consistently outperformed their peers between 2004 and 2018, largely thanks to their diversified their assets, which include investments in real estate and infrastructure assets. 鈥淗ere, the funds are doing it themselves,鈥� says Professor Sebastien Betermier in an interview with Benefits Canada. 鈥淭hey are on the ground, building projects themselves in Toronto, in Montreal and abroad.鈥�
Delve: How Barriers to Foreign Investments Affect Risk-Taking in International Markets, with Francesca Carrieri
What regulations are at play when financial institutions, hedge funds, mutual fund managers, and others invest in stocks and businesses in another country鈥攁nd who do those regulations ultimately benefit? Despite protecting both foreign investors and countries鈥� domestic markets, regulatory constraints still present certain barriers to foreign investment, especially in times of market stress, inflation, and increased interest rates.
It is never too early to take learn the basics of investing
Everyone should have basic financial knowledge, even if they have not yet accumulated much wealth, according to Benjamin Croitoru, Finance Professor and Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs at Desautels. The 捆绑SM社区 Personal Finance Essentials course is a good place to start, Croitoru told CTV News Edmonton.
Delve: How FinTech Lending to Small Businesses Opens the Door to Bank Loans, with Paul Beaumont
Bank loans are the typical first step for most small and medium-sized businesses, but another form of business lending has emerged: FinTech companies that use algorithms to determine whether a business is worth the risk.
Why the CAQ鈥檚 proposed economic incentives may not be all they cracked up to be
鈥淢any of the drivers of the inflation we are seeing today are coming from the supply and production side of the economy,鈥� says Associate Professor of Finance聽Sebastien Betermier聽in an interview with CTV News. The war in Ukraine, post-pandemic recovery and supply side frictions are all factors outside our control contributing to inflation.
Personal Financial Essentials course teaches key investment concepts concisely
Personal finances should be important to everyone, and over the past three years, more than 200,000 people have signed up for 捆绑SM社区鈥檚 free Personal Financial Essentials online course. Desautels鈥� Associate Dean of Undergraduate Programs Benjamin Croitoru spoke with The Just Word podcast about how the course fills an unmet need.
When a recession is coming, investors need to keep a level head
How should investors react to a looming market downturn? Don鈥檛 panic, says Prof. Sebastien Betermier, an Associate Professor of Finance at Desautels. This sounds simple enough, but it鈥檚 easier said than done.
Alberta politician who is spreading conspiracy theories could become premier
Danielle Smith is running for the leadership of Alberta鈥檚 United Conservative Party, and could become Alberta鈥檚 next premier. But Smith is campaigning on a platform that includes internet conspiracy theories. In a newsletter, she cautioned that Canada鈥檚 currency could be replaced with an international common digital currency, and the federal government could use it to 鈥減unish and reward鈥� Canadians.
