Essential Skills For Pension Committee Members November 12, 13 & 14, 2008 Toronto

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Workshops

Workshops 1:

9:00-noon   -   Governance Structures And The Role Of Pension Committee Members
Peter Gorham, Partner, Morneau Sobeco Bethune Whiston, Partner, Morneau Sobeco

Governance objectives provide the framework and standards for the oversight, management and administration of the pension plan. Whether explicit or implicit, pension governance must address five issues: knowledge, decision making, delegation, monitoring and documentation. This discussion details key governance objectives of the plan and how the pension committee member/trustee can work effectively within the structures, including:

· Sample governance structures
· Understanding the plan's governance structure
· Joint trusteeship: advantages and disadvantages
· Key governance issues
· Trustee/pension committee selection and organization
· Skills and knowledge
· Trustee and corporate management relationship: clear separation of management from governance and operations from oversight
· Addressing conflicts of interest and competing interests
· Assessing the governance process and performance
· Operational issues and governance
· Setting and implementing policy and assessing the results
· Stakeholder and sponsor relations
· Role of advisors and consultants
· Key legal, actuarial and investment questions new trustees should ask advisors


Peter Gorham, FSA, FCIA is a Partner with Morneau Sobeco in Toronto. His main area of practice is the design, funding, expensing and administration of pension and benefit plans. He has been involved with pension plans since the late 1960s when he provided part time assistance to his father's fledgling company. Thus his experience touches five decades of pension history despite his extremely young age. Following his graduation from University of Toronto in 1976, he spent 2 years with an insurance company before returning to the familiar world of pensions and becoming a consultant. He qualified as an actuary in 1980. After 20 years as a pension and benefits consultant in Toronto and Hamilton, Peter returned to Toronto with Morneau Sobeco in 1998. He is a partner in the Toronto pension practice where he consults on both defined benefit and defined contribution plans. He is recognized as a leader on issues with Pension Governance as well as with Defined Contribution plans. He is able to explain complex actuarial issues in a way that most people can understand. He enjoys teaching and is a frequent speaker and author on pension and benefits topics. Bethune Whiston, has over 17 years of experience in pensions and benefits at Morneau Sobeco. She received a B.A. from the University of Western Ontario (1983) and a J.D. from the University of Toronto (1986). She manages the Toronto Pension Legal Team and is responsible for advising Morneau professionals and clients on a broad range of legal issues. She is Morneau's National Specialist in pension governance, the editor of the “Summary of Pension Legislation in Canada”, and a contributing author and coordinating editor for the “Morneau Sobeco Handbook of Canadian Pension and Benefit Plans”, both of which are published by CCH Limited. She participates internationally as a speaker and writer on pension issues.


Workshops 2:

1:30-4:30   -   Understanding Pension Finance And Investment Basics
Dean Liotta, Senior Consultant, RBC Dexia Investor Services Munish Saluja, Senior Consultant, RBC Dexia Investor Services

Of all the duties required of pension committee members and trustees, perhaps none is more important than developing an understanding of pension finance and investments, the plan's risk exposure and the fundamental principles that guide management of pension assets. Build on what you have learned in the conference and join this highly interactive workshop for much more detailed advice on the fundamental principles and beliefs underlying the investment program.

-Pension fund mission and goals
-Understanding the plan's risk management approach
-What is the plan's asset mix policy?
-Active vs. passive management
-Understanding the investment management structure
-Performance measurement

Dean Liotta is a Senior Consultant with the Risk & Investments department of RBC Dexia Investor Services, having spent 6 years with RBC Dexia. He is currently responsible for consulting relationships in Ontario and Atlantic Canada, providing analysis of plan and investment manager performance. He has also held a management role in client reporting and worked with investment consulting boutique Segal Advisors as an associate consultant. He has previously presented to audiences with respect to performance and asset allocation as well as the importance of including risk in portfolio analysis. He is a CFA charter holder and holds an Honours Commerce degree from the University of Windsor Ontario as well as an Arts Degree in Economics from the University of Western Ontario. Munish Saluja has a wealth of experience in the investment industry especially in the area of developing oversight solutions on investment portfolios. A key member of RBC Dexia's Risk & Investment Analytics department over the last 9 years, Munish was a major contributor to the design and development of its enhanced and fixed income analytics product offering. He is a graduate of the University of Toronto where he graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce degree with distinction. He is also a CFA charter holder and one of the pioneer recipients to the CFA Institute's Certificate in Performance Measurement (CIPM).