February 2019 Edition

Desjardins is once again featured in the Globe and Mail, this time in the Leadership Lab section. In this article External link. Opens in a new window., Guy Cormier, President and CEO of Desjardins Group, explains the principles that shape our leadership: keeping things simple, relentlessly integrating the modern and never losing sight of the human touch. It also speaks to the Desjardins difference, which is about putting our clients at the heart of everything we do.

A brand new video on the Home Buyers’ Plan (HBP) is now available. In less than two minutes, it shows how the HBP can help you purchase your first home by withdrawing money from your RRSP, under certain conditions. It was posted in mid-February in the Messages section of the Participant services site, and an email was sent to RRSP holders a few days later.

• English version (MP4) External link. Opens in a new window.
• French version (MP4) External link. Opens in a new window.

Would you like to promote our educational videos?

Don’t hesitate to post our videos about the HBP and the first 60-days rule (English version, MP4 External link. Opens in a new window.) (French version, MP4 External link. Opens in a new window.) on your intranet and cafeteria television, and consider including them in your newsletter.

In March, a third video will be released explaining the benefits of the matching employer contribution. It will be emailed to all plan members who benefit from a matching contribution, and will also be posted in the Messages section of the Participant services site.

Our plan members’ financial wellness matters to us. For some time now, our group retirement savings team has been making changes to clarify and simplify financial information. Every day, we try to deliver understandable, comprehensive and relevant information that will help our plan members focus on planning for their retirement—not deciphering financial jargon.

Adhering to the utmost rigour on security and confidentiality External link. Opens in a new window. standards are a priority at Desjardins. We have in place comprehensive and effective measures to safeguard from hackers the personal information we handle.

Here are some group retirement savings examples

• We use our secure Plan sponsor services website to share confidential data, thereby ensuring information remains protected at all times.
• When it comes to collecting personal data, we use our secure Participant services website. Alternatively, if members call the Desjardins Insurance Customer Contact Centre, our call centre agents follow very strict verification and non-disclosure policies.
• Desjardins will never send an email asking for, or containing, personal information. We do occasionally send emails to members (to announce a contest, for example) and when we do, we follow best practices to avoid phishing. For instance, we avoid including hyperlinks to secure sites when requesting an action from the recipient.
• All of our employees are required to comply with the strict guidelines of our Privacy policy External link. Opens in a new window..

Let’s all be vigilant and help our members prevent fraud! Here’s some information to share with your employees:

• 3 telltale signs of a phishing email External link. Opens in a new window.
• MARCH: Fraud prevention month External link. Opens in a new window.
• Fraud Facts — Recognize, Reject, Report Fraud External link. Opens in a new window.

Each year, employers and Desjardins must issue the various receipts and slips required for employee tax returns.

We’ve put together a cheat sheet (PDF, 373 KB) Opens in a new window. on the slips to be issued for the plan(s) you offer.

As part of its governance process, Desjardins Insurance evaluates each fund offered on its group retirement savings platform on a quarterly basis to ensure compliance with its selection criteria.

This evaluation is based on four main elements:

• Personnel
• Investment processes
• Compliance with the stipulated management style
• Performance

The result of this analysis is that some funds are placed on a watch list that is updated every quarter.

For each fund on the watch list, the areas of concern are identified and then closely monitored. Funds will remain on the watch list until the situation has been resolved, or in the event that the concerns persist, until they are no longer recommended or are removed from the platform.

Our fund watch list, including a list of funds no longer recommended, is published quarterly in the Your news section of the Plan sponsor services website (dfs.ca/plansponsor External link. Opens in a new window.).

Acquisition at Fiera

Fiera Capital announced that it will be taking an 80% interest in Palmer Capital Partners Limited, a UK-focused real estate investment manager based in the United Kingdom. Palmer Capital, founded in 1992, has over $1.3 billion (Cdn) in assets under management with an additional $350 million (Cdn) managed through the joint ventures of eight regional property companies in which it is a minority shareholder. It will remain independently managed but will become the UK arm of Fiera Properties.

Departure at Franklin Bisset

Franklin Bissett announced that Richard Fortin, co-lead portfolio manager of Franklin Bissett’s Small Cap Fund, has left the organisation. He will be replaced by Garey Aitken, CIO of Franklin Bissett Investment Management who previously managed Franklin Bissett’s Small Cap strategy from 2000 to 2004.

Nominations at Fiera Properties

Fiera Properties announced the following changes within the Asset management team: Peter McFarlane was promoted from VP to SVP and Oraska Tam was promoted from Analyst to Asset Manager. Within the Investments team, Paul Macchione was promoted from Manager to VP and Xinxin Li, formerly an analyst, has also taken on a more important role as Investments Manager.

You will now be able to obtain Investment Info Bulletins directly from the Investment section of the Plan sponsor services website.

You can also visit the Desjardins Life Insurance website to see how our funds are performing. Click here to see the rates of return.