How the board makes investment decisions

Your pension is protected by legislation and key investment policies. Learn how they work together.

Legislative obligations

The board is responsible for plan investments. The board has four major considerations when making investment decisions.

1. Legal and legislative compliance. The board ensures its decisions comply with the federal Income Tax Act, British Columbia Pension Benefits Standards Act, Pension Benefits Standards Regulation and other legislation.
2. Statement of Investment Policies and Procedures. The board uses a document called the Statement of Investment Policies and Procedures, or SIPP, to set investment guidelines and direction for the plan’s investment agent: the BC Investment Management Corporation (BCI). The board also uses the SIPP to lay out how plan funds are to be managed and how fund performance is to be measured.
3. The plan rules. The board makes its decisions following the requirements of the plan rules.
4. Fiduciary duty. Section 6.2 of the Joint Trust Agreement, the Pension Benefits Standards Act and common law place on the board a fiduciary duty to current and future members. This means the board must act in the best interests of members when it comes to plan investments.

Integrating responsible investment with fiduciary duty

The SIPP states that “at all times, responsible investing will be conducted within the framework of fiduciary responsibility. It will therefore be implemented in a manner which does not interfere with the efficient investment of the fund to achieve investment return objectives which are in the best financial interests of the Plan’s members and beneficiaries.”