Media Advisory - Morneau Shepell Asset & Risk Management to present on Canadian Endowments and Foundations' Conundrum: Growing Funds While Safeguarding Assets

Media invited to attend session by Robert Boston, Managing Director, Morneau Shepell Asset & Risk Management Ltd.

MONTREAL, Nov. 11, 2015 /CNW/ - Morneau Shepell Asset & Risk Management's 2015 Foundations and Endowments Survey results indicate that despite stubbornly low interest rates and higher volatility for stocks, the standard 60/40 split of equity and fixed income portfolios remains a widely used approach among Canada's endowment and foundation community. While some are adopting more progressive strategies, there is a high degree of inertia among respondents with the current asset allocation to fixed income. With a need to maintain target spending and preserve the value of their fund, how best can endowments and foundations achieve these competing goals in an unpredictable financial environment? And why are there implications to Canada's social and community landscape?

November 17, Robert Boston, Managing Director, Morneau Shepell Asset & Risk Management Ltd., is presenting on this topic at the Foundation, Endowment and Not for Profit Investment Summit being held at Le Place d'Armes Hôtel in Montreal, and will provide insights on how to grapple with the challenge of meeting investment goals in uncertain markets while managing strict risk and value parameters.

Media are invited to attend the conference. Mr. Boston will be available for interviews before or after his presentation.

Who:	Robert Boston, Managing Director, Morneau Shepell Asset & Risk Management Ltd.
Where:	Foundation, Endowment and Not for Profit Investment Summit Quebec
	Le Place d'Armes Hôtel and Suites, 55, rue Saint-Jacques, Vieux-Montréal, Québec
When:	Tuesday, November 17, 11:00 a.m. - 12 noon
What:	Conference presentation – Explore New Strategies to Meet Your Endowment's or Foundation's Future Spending Challenges

This session will explore the difficulties and the opportunities confronting Canadian endowments and foundations in today's unpredictable economic environment. Draw key insights from Morneau Shepell Asset & Risk Management's 2015 Endowments and Foundations survey and learn how Endowments and Foundations can help maintain their organization's viability. Attendees will hear ideas to:

• Grow funds by shifting away from the standard 60/40 investment model
• Emulate American investment strategies within a Quebec context
• Benefit from the recent CRA rule change for alternative investment practices

 Additionally, Mr. Boston can provide insight into:

• Challenges faced by Endowments and Foundations, and implications for social and community services and investments in Canada 
• Alternative investments as an asset class, and how institutional investors use them to help achieve long-term investing goals
• More broadly, Mr. Boston is well positioned to speak to the investment and risk management challenges faced by institutional investors today within our current low interest rate and volatile stock market environment.                                                                                                                                                                                                   

About Robert Boston
Managing Director, Morneau Shepell Asset & Risk Management Ltd.
Rob is a Partner and Practice Leader for the Investment Consulting group for Ontario and western Canada. He has more than 20 years of financial services experience, most of which came from direct employment with large financial institutions such as Manulife, John Hancock and RBC. Throughout his career, Rob has helped design benchmarking strategies for insurance product liabilities, developed investment strategy for institutional asset managers (including endowments and foundations), designed, developed, and implemented performance measurement and analysis systems, and managed a $3.4 billion DC/ DB pension plan for a large U.S. financial organization.

About Morneau Shepell Asset & Risk Management Ltd.
Established in 2012, Morneau Shepell Asset & Risk Management Ltd. was launched as an extension of Morneau Shepell's asset and risk services department to help achieve targeted investment outcomes for clients and provide investors with a new investment approach and asset allocation. By pioneering the outcome-oriented style of investing, Morneau Shepell Asset & Risk Management Ltd. assists clients by emphasizing downside protection, reduced volatility, and controlled risk.

About Morneau Shepell Inc.
Morneau Shepell is the only human resources consulting and technology company that takes an integrative approach to employee assistance, health, benefits, and retirement needs. The Company is the leading provider of Employee and Family Assistance Programs, the largest administrator of pension and benefits plans and the largest provider of integrated absence management solutions in Canada. Through health and productivity, administrative, and retirement solutions, Morneau Shepell helps clients reduce costs, increase employee productivity, and improve their competitive position.

Established in 1966, Morneau Shepell serves more than 20,000 clients, ranging from small businesses to some of the largest corporations and associations in North America. With almost 4,000 employees in offices across North America, Morneau Shepell provides services to organizations across Canada, in the United States, and around the globe. Morneau Shepell is a publicly-traded company on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: MSI). For more information, visit morneaushepell.com. 

SOURCE Morneau Shepell Inc.

To schedule an interview, please contact: Christine Tourigny, Kaiser Lachance Communications, 514.878.2522, poste 302, [email protected]