This is an election of two (2) UBC Faculty Pension Plan members to serve as Trustees for a four-year period from January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2027. If you have any questions about this election, please contact UBC Elections at elections.information@ubc.ca.
Voting Instructions
There are two ways you can vote: online or by paper ballot. Members with a Campus-Wide Login (CWL) username and password can vote online through the WebVote system. Those who do not have a CWL are asked to submit paper ballots. Please follow the instructions below.
Vote Online
To vote online you must have a Campus-Wide Login (CWL) at UBC. If you do not have a CWL, please use the paper ballot method outlined below. If you have forgotten your CWL username or password, please go to: https://www.myaccount.ubc.ca/myAccount/
- Go to WebVote
- Select “CWL login” on the right-hand side to login with your CWL credentials
- Under “2023 Faculty Pension Plan Election” select “Vote”
- Vote for up to two (2) candidates by selecting the box next to each candidate’s name
- Select “Submit Vote” and then “OK”
- Select "Yes - Submit My Votes" to confirm your submission before logging out
Vote by Paper Ballot
A paper ballot was emailed or mailed to members of the Faculty Pension Plan with their election package on Wednesday, October 25, 2023. If you do not have CWL credentials, you can fill out the ballot that was mailed to you (or download a copy here) and return it to UBC Elections as directed on the ballot.
Deadline
All paper ballots must be received by UBC Elections, Enrolment Services by 4 pm PT on Monday, November 20, 2023 in order to be valid. Online voting will close at this time.
Candidate Statements
Martin Comyn
I have been a member of the UBC Faculty Pension Plan (FPP) for over 45 years and worked as a research scientist at TRIUMF for 35 years. I had always taken a keen interest in the FPP's evolution and the performance of its Funds prior to being elected as a Trustee in 2019. When I started my term in January 2020 there was no indication of the turmoil that was about to occur in the financial markets with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and later the Ukraine invasion.
I am acutely aware that dependable returns are equally important whether one is an active, deferred, or retired Member. This has been a challenge with the recent market volatility. Over my term I have played an active role in both the regular Board Meetings and on the various sub-committees that have studied fund manager performance and the asset mix of the Funds. Apart from relying on reports prepared by consultants, I have also attended many virtual conferences and webinars to broaden my knowledge, thereby enabling me to contribute to the many changes that have been made.
I think that it is important for the FPP Trustees to come from a variety of disciplines in order to broaden the scope of discussions at Board Meetings prior to making important decisions. I feel that my background provides me with the analytical skills and attention to detail to be able to fulfill this role.
If re-elected, I will continue to exercise due diligence in helping to ensure the continued financial health of the FPP, its prudent management, the maintenance of low fees, and the search for new investment options. I would also like to assist in expanding the range of educational materials made available to Members to help them make their own investment decisions.
Carlos da Costa
My name is Dr. Carlos da Costa, and I am writing to express my interest in becoming an active contributing member of UBC's Faculty Pension Plan Board of Trustees.
I am an alumnus of UBC and a seasoned financial professional who is also a finance lecturer at UBC's Sauder School of Business and the Norman B. Keevil Institute of Mining Engineering, and within Simon Fraser University's Segal Graduate School of Business. I possess twenty years of experience working in the financial sector before furthering my academic credentials and becoming a finance lecturer. I also have extensive corporate governance, leadership, and management experience, having served on several non-profit Canadian boards for years.
I would welcome utilising my professional experience and knowledge for the benefit of UBC's Faculty Pension Plan ("Plan") if elected.
My goal would be to support the current and future activities of UBC in perpetuity. My mission would be to help the Plan to:
- Foster an environment of academic excellence where superior teaching, learning, scholarship, and research can be pursued.
- Enable the University to achieve and maintain an enhanced level of financial strength and independence in its operations over the long run.
- Support the attraction and retention of students to UBC.
In support of these goals, the investment objectives that I would pursue are:
- To protect the original capital.
- To preserve the purchasing power of the capital.
- To provide earnings to sustain the long-term spending rate and approach.
These objectives would be attained with an acceptable level of risk. This typically involves a well-diversified selection of asset classes.
If offered the opportunity to join UBC's Faculty Pension Plan Board of Trustees, I would be deeply committed to successfully carrying out all the expected commitments for the benefit of its members and other beneficiaries.
Robert Heinkel
I have been a UBC Faculty Pension Plan (UBCFPP) trustee for 30+ years, including being Vice Chair of the Board for many of those years, and I would greatly appreciate continuing my contribution to the oversight of your savings. I am still active in teaching and research, with a planned retirement date still 2 years in the future.
I have extensive involvement in both research about, and the actual practice of, investment management. I have taught, and done academic research, on money management, and I have extensive experience with overseeing other endowments (currently 2) outside of UBC. My previous oversight of a student-run investment fund (valued today at over $10 million) for 35 years, plus my 10+ years on the investment committee of the Vancouver Foundation (over $1 billion), has given me broad exposure to other large endowments and to the managers employed to invest those endowments. I am very familiar with the UBCFPP's current managers and know many more beyond that group.
I, and all of your trustees, stay firmly focused on ensuring that our members, both those just beginning their careers and those currently taking funds from their accounts, can look forward to financial security in retirement, and achieving that goal with the least amount of risk. We are also very aware of the costs we incur to manage and administer your savings, and we strive to keep these costs at or below other similar plans. We also strive to provide the best personalized service to you when the need arises. We feel we have outstanding staff available to support you when the need arises.
Thank you for your support.
Adam Hofri-Winogradow
I am an associate professor at the Allard School of Law, specializing in trusts. I have for years done research on both the law governing trusts and the actual practice of people using trusts, along with the (not always happy) results of that use. Among the several contexts where people use trusts is of course the pensions context, and I have long been studying pensions and the law governing them.
While I am a career academic, I have long been in constant contact with trusts professionals. I have since 2008 been an academic member of the Society of Trusts and Estates Practitioners (STEP), the key professional organization of trusts professionals. I am also a member of the Estate Planning Council of Vancouver.
I have a long running interest in the investment of trust funds, including in the pension context. I have, for example, followed (from a distance, happily) the controversial recent changes made to the UK Universities Superannuation Scheme.
I would now like to put some of this accumulated reading and experience into practice and serve as a trustee of the faculty pension plan. Naturally I have a vested interest in the plan doing well, and would like to try and make a contribution to our common welfare.
Questions
If you have any questions about this election, please contact UBC Elections at elections.information@ubc.ca.